mindmap
root((MANIA))
kleptomania
A mental illness in which a person has a strong desire to steal things.
🌱Kleptomania leads its sufferers to steal items of little value that they don't need anyway. 🌳*Klepto-* comes from the Greek word *kleptein*, "to steal." Even though kleptomania is often the butt of jokes, it's actually a serious mental illness, often associated with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and substance abuse. Klepotomaniacs tend to be depressed, and many live lives of secret shame because they're afraid to seek treatment. dipsomaniac A person with an extreme and uncontrollable desire for alcohol.
🌱She didn't like the word alcoholic being applied to her, and liked dipsomaniac even less. 🌳*Dipsomaniac* comes from the Greek noun *dipsa*, "thirst," but thirst usually has nothing to do with it. Some experts distinguish between an alcoholic and a dipsomaniac, reserving *dipsomaniac* for someone involved in frequent episodes of binge drinking and blackouts. In any case, there are plenty of less respectful words for a person of similar habits: *sot, lush, wino, souse, boozer, guzzler, tippler, tosspot, drunkard, boozehound-*-the list goes on and on and on. megalomaniac A mental disorder marked by feelings of great personal power and importance.
🌱When the governor started calling for arming his National Guard with nuclear weapons, the voters finally realized they had elected a megalomaniac. 🌳Since the Greek root *megalo-* means "large," someone who is *megalomaniacal* has a mental disorder marked by feelings of personal grandeur. *Megalomania* has probably afflicted many rulers throughout history: The Roman emperor Caligula insisted that he be worshipped as a living god. Joseph Stalin suffered from the paranoia that often accompanies megalomania, and had thousands of his countrymen executed as a result. J.-B. Bokassa, dictator of a small and extremely poor African nation, proclaimed himself emperor of the country he renamed the Central African Empire. And even democratically elected leaders have often acquired huge egos as a result of public acclaim. But *megalomaniac* is generally thrown around as an insult and rarely refers to real mental illness. egomaniac Someone who is extremely self-centered and ignores the problems and concerns of others.
🌱He's a completely unimpressive person, but that doesn't keep him from being an egomaniac. 🌳*Ego* is Latin for "I," and in English *ego* usually means "sense of self-worth." Most people's egos stay at a healthy level, but some become exaggerated. Egomaniacs may display a grandiose sense of self-importance, with fantasies about their own brilliance or beauty, intense envy of others, a lack of sympathy, and a need to be adored or feared. But, like *megalomaniac*, the word *egomaniac* is thrown around by lots of people who don't mean much more by it than *blowhard* or *know-it-all*.
🌱Kleptomania leads its sufferers to steal items of little value that they don't need anyway. 🌳*Klepto-* comes from the Greek word *kleptein*, "to steal." Even though kleptomania is often the butt of jokes, it's actually a serious mental illness, often associated with mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and substance abuse. Klepotomaniacs tend to be depressed, and many live lives of secret shame because they're afraid to seek treatment. dipsomaniac A person with an extreme and uncontrollable desire for alcohol.
🌱She didn't like the word alcoholic being applied to her, and liked dipsomaniac even less. 🌳*Dipsomaniac* comes from the Greek noun *dipsa*, "thirst," but thirst usually has nothing to do with it. Some experts distinguish between an alcoholic and a dipsomaniac, reserving *dipsomaniac* for someone involved in frequent episodes of binge drinking and blackouts. In any case, there are plenty of less respectful words for a person of similar habits: *sot, lush, wino, souse, boozer, guzzler, tippler, tosspot, drunkard, boozehound-*-the list goes on and on and on. megalomaniac A mental disorder marked by feelings of great personal power and importance.
🌱When the governor started calling for arming his National Guard with nuclear weapons, the voters finally realized they had elected a megalomaniac. 🌳Since the Greek root *megalo-* means "large," someone who is *megalomaniacal* has a mental disorder marked by feelings of personal grandeur. *Megalomania* has probably afflicted many rulers throughout history: The Roman emperor Caligula insisted that he be worshipped as a living god. Joseph Stalin suffered from the paranoia that often accompanies megalomania, and had thousands of his countrymen executed as a result. J.-B. Bokassa, dictator of a small and extremely poor African nation, proclaimed himself emperor of the country he renamed the Central African Empire. And even democratically elected leaders have often acquired huge egos as a result of public acclaim. But *megalomaniac* is generally thrown around as an insult and rarely refers to real mental illness. egomaniac Someone who is extremely self-centered and ignores the problems and concerns of others.
🌱He's a completely unimpressive person, but that doesn't keep him from being an egomaniac. 🌳*Ego* is Latin for "I," and in English *ego* usually means "sense of self-worth." Most people's egos stay at a healthy level, but some become exaggerated. Egomaniacs may display a grandiose sense of self-importance, with fantasies about their own brilliance or beauty, intense envy of others, a lack of sympathy, and a need to be adored or feared. But, like *megalomaniac*, the word *egomaniac* is thrown around by lots of people who don't mean much more by it than *blowhard* or *know-it-all*.
MANIA in Latin means "madness," and the meaning passed over into English unchanged. Our word mania can mean a mental illness, or at least an excessive enthusiasm. We might call someone a maniac who was wild, violent, and mentally ill—or maybe just really enthusiastic about something. Too much caffeine might make you a bit manic. But the intense mood swings once known as manic-depressive illness are now usually called bipolar disorder instead.🌸