Spanish word

enloquecer

Pronunciation

IPA/enlokeˈθeɾ/

Meaning

  • verbgo insane

Example

Después de la pérdida, él enloqueció.

After the loss, he went insane.

Illustration for enloquecer (go insane)

More examples

Se enloqueció por ella.

He went crazy over her.

Core concept

Mind unraveling from loss of reason or overwhelming excitement.

Common phrases

  • enloquecer por alguien

    go crazy over someone

  • enloquecer de dolor

    go insane with grief

Similar words

volverse loco: Become suddenly mentally unhinged, changing from calm to erratic.
perder la cabeza: Act impulsively after losing calm under powerful emotions.
obsesionarse: Develop an intense fixation on a person or idea to the exclusion of other things.
trastornarse: Experience a disruption of mental balance that impairs usual functioning.

Definition in Spanish

Perder la razón o provocar que otra persona la pierda; se usa literalmente y en sentido figurado para indicar que algo vuelve loco o apasiona mucho.

Word origin

Built from the prefix en- plus adjective loco and the suffix -ecer, where -ecer converts 'loco' into a verb 'to become (crazy)' and en- allows both intransitive and causative uses.

Usage tips

  • In constructions like me enloquece la música the music acts as the subject and agreement follows its number (me enloquece la música, me enloquecen las canciones), so word order differs from English.

Other meanings

  • drive ... madverb
  • be crazy aboutverb

Opposites

Related words

  • enloquecimientomadnessnoun
  • enloquecedormaddeningadjective
  • enloquecidomadadjective

Word lists with this word