Mad \Mad\, a. [Compar. Madder; superl. Maddest.]

[AS. gem?d, gem[=a]d, mad; akin to OS. gem?d foolish, OHG. gameit, Icel. mei?a to hurt, Goth. gam['a]ids weak, broken. ?.]

1. Disordered in intellect; crazy; insane. [1913 Webster]

I have heard my grandsire say full oft, Extremity of griefs would make men mad. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

2. Excited beyond self-control or the restraint of reason; inflamed by violent or uncontrollable desire, passion, or appetite; as, to be mad with terror, lust, or hatred; mad against political reform. [1913 Webster]

It is the land of graven images, and they are mad

1. 88. [1913 Webster]

And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. --Acts xxvi. 11. [1913 Webster]

3. Proceeding from, or indicating, madness; expressing distraction; prompted by infatuation, fury, or extreme rashness. "Mad demeanor." --Milton. [1913 Webster]

Mad wars destroy in one year the works of many years of peace. --Franklin. [1913 Webster]

The mad promise of Cleon was fulfilled. --Jowett (Thucyd.). [1913 Webster]

4. Extravagant; immoderate. "Be mad and merry." --Shak. "Fetching mad bounds." --Shak. [1913 Webster]

5. Furious with rage, terror, or disease; -- said of the lower animals; as, a mad bull; esp., having hydrophobia; rabid; as, a mad dog. [1913 Webster]

6. Angry; out of patience; vexed; as, to get mad at a person. [Colloq.]

[1913 Webster]

7. Having impaired polarity; -- applied to a compass needle. [Colloq.]

[1913 Webster]

Like mad, like a mad person; in a furious manner; as, to run like mad. --L'Estrange.

To run mad.
   (a) To become wild with excitement.
   (b) To run wildly about under the influence of hydrophobia; to become affected with hydrophobia.

To run mad after, to pursue under the influence of infatuation or immoderate desire. "The world is running mad after farce." --Dryden. [1913 Webster]

Source: The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
 

58 Moby Thesaurus words for "like mad": a corps perdu, all to pieces, carelessly, demonically, desperately, fanatically, fiercely, frantically, frenetically, furiously, happen what may, hastily, head over heels, headfirst, headforemost, headlong, heedlessly, heels over head, helter-skelter, holus-bolus, hotheadedly, hotly, hurriedly, hurry-scurry, impetuously, like a flash, like a shot, like a streak, like blazes, like crazy, like fury, like greased lightning, like lightning, like one possessed, like sin, like sixty, madly, overeagerly, overenthusiastically, overzealously, precipitantly, precipitately, precipitously, ramble-scramble, recklessly, rigorously, severely, slam-bang, slap-bang, slapdash, uncontrollably, vehemently, venomously, violently, virulently, wantonly, wildly, with a vengeance

Source: Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0
 

like mad adv : with great speed or effort or intensity; "drove like crazy"; "worked like hell to get the job done"; "ran like sin for the storm cellar"; "work like thunder"; "fought like the devil" [syn: like hell, like crazy, like sin, like thunder, like the devil]

Source: WordNet (r) 2.0
 

Mad \Mad\, a. [Compar. Madder; superl. Maddest.]

[AS. gem?d, gem[=a]d, mad; akin to OS. gem?d foolish, OHG. gameit, Icel. mei?a to hurt, Goth. gam['a]ids weak, broken. ?.]

1. Disordered in intellect; crazy; insane.

I have heard my grandsire say full oft, Extremity of griefs would make men mad. --Shak.

2. Excited beyond self-control or the restraint of reason; inflamed by violent or uncontrollable desire, passion, or appetite; as, to be mad with terror, lust, or hatred; mad against political reform.

It is the land of graven images, and they are mad

1. 88.

And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. --Acts xxvi. 11.

3. Proceeding from, or indicating, madness; expressing distraction; prompted by infatuation, fury, or extreme rashness. ``Mad demeanor.'' --Milton.

Mad wars destroy in one year the works of many years of peace. --Franklin.

The mad promise of Cleon was fulfilled. --Jowett (Thucyd.).

4. Extravagant; immoderate. ``Be mad and merry.'' --Shak. ``Fetching mad bounds.'' --Shak.

5. Furious with rage, terror, or disease; -- said of the lower animals; as, a mad bull; esp., having hydrophobia; rabid; as, a mad dog.

6. Angry; out of patience; vexed; as, to get mad at a person. [Colloq.]

7. Having impaired polarity; -- applied to a compass needle. [Colloq.]

Like mad, like a mad person; in a furious manner; as, to run like mad. --L'Estrange.

To run mad.
   (a) To become wild with excitement.
   (b) To run wildly about under the influence of hydrophobia; to become affected with hydrophobia.

To run mad after, to pursue under the influence of infatuation or immoderate desire. ``The world is running mad after farce.'' --Dryden.

Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)