Word · adjective · usually predicative or describing behavior · C1 · Informal to journalistic · strongly disapproving and potentially stigmatizing
unhinged
un-HINJD Stress hinged; the final -ed is not a separate syllable.
Behaving in a wild, uncontrolled, or seriously unreasonable way.
rastrojen; van kontrole; neuravnotežen; potpuno nerazuman
Use it
The caller’s increasingly unhinged accusations made it impossible to continue the interview.
The word judges the behavior as uncontrolled and far outside reasonable discussion.
Online, the character delivers an unhinged rant about a missing teaspoon.
A trivial trigger and extreme reaction support a figurative, sometimes darkly humorous use.
Build the sentence
seem / become / sound + unhinged · unhinged behavior/rant/reaction
Memory scene
A door loses the hinge that guides its movement: instead of opening on a stable path, it swings unpredictably in every direction.
Watch out
Use unhinged cautiously: when applied to a real person, it can stigmatize mental illness and replace a precise description with an insult. Prefer specific language such as incoherent, threatening, or out of control when accuracy matters. The literal sense means removed from hinges.
Nearby language
The closest plain description and often safer because it focuses on observable behavior.
Means not guided by reason, but does not necessarily suggest wild or uncontrolled behavior.
Can imply serious emotional or mental difficulty and also requires care when labeling a person.
Make it yours
Lik u satiri reaguje potpuno nekontrolisanim govorom na beznačajan nestanak kašičice.