craze
🇬🇧 /ˈkreɪz/
🇺🇸 /ˈkreɪz/
📖 Definitions
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noun
A widespread but usually short-lived enthusiasm or fad for a particular activity, object, or idea.; A state of intense but irrational enthusiasm or excitement; a mania.; A fine crack or network of cracks in a surface, especially in glaze, porcelain, or paint.
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verb
To cause someone to become mentally deranged or excessively enthusiastic; to drive to madness.; To produce a network of fine cracks on a surface, especially in ceramics or glaze.; To become covered with a network of fine cracks.
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adjective
Archaic: mentally deranged; insane or crazed.
🔗 Details
Word forms
countable
Plural: crazes
3rd sing.: crazes
Past: crazed
Past part.: crazed
Pres part.: crazing
Collocations
latest crazepassing crazedance crazefashion crazefitness crazemedia craze
Derivatives
crazycrazedcrazinesscrazily
Synonyms
fadmaniaragevoguetrendenthusiasm
Commonly confused
crave
EN: 'Crave' means to desire something intensely; 'craze' refers to a widespread temporary enthusiasm or fad.
crazy
EN: 'Crazy' is an adjective meaning insane or wildly enthusiastic; 'craze' is a noun referring to the fad itself.
Spelling tips
EN: Do not confuse 'craze' (a fad) with 'crave' (to desire strongly) — they differ by only one letter but have entirely different meanings.
💬 Examples
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The hula hoop craze swept through the country in the late 1950s.
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His craze for collecting stamps consumed all his free time and money.
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The old vase had a delicate craze running across its glazed surface.
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The constant noise from the construction site was enough to craze anyone.
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Rapid cooling can craze the glaze on pottery, creating an undesirable cracked appearance.
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The paint on the old door had crazed over the years due to exposure to sunlight.
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The craze old man wandered the streets muttering to himself.