insanity /in·san·i·ty/ (in-san´it-e) a legal term for mental illness of such degree that the individual is not responsible for his or her acts.insane´
insanity
insanity
in·san·i·ty ( n-s n -t )n. 1. Persistent mental disorder or derangement. Not in scientific use. 2. Unsoundness of mind sufficient in the judgment of a civil court to render a person unfit to maintain a contractual or other legal relationship or to warrant commitment to a mental health facility. 3. In most criminal jurisdictions, a degree of mental malfunctioning considered to be sufficient to relieve the accused of legal responsibility for the act committed. |
insanity
[insan′itē]
Etymology: L, in, not, sanus, sound
, Usage notes: informal.
a term used more in legal and social than in medical terminology. It refers to those mental illnesses that are of such a serious or debilitating nature as to interfere with one's capability of functioning within the legal limits of society and performing the normal activities of daily living.
insanity
Forensic medicine A legal and social term for a condition that renders the affected person unfit to enjoy liberty of action, because of the unreliability of his behavior with concomitant danger to himself and others; insanity
denotes, by extension, a degree of mental illness that negates legal responsibility for one's actions. See Psychosis, Temporary insanity Psychiatry A vague obsolete term for psychosis.
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