batty

adjective

bat·​ty ˈba-tē How to pronounce batty (audio)
battier; battiest
1
: of, relating to, or resembling a bat
… the monster envelopes her in its batty wings and zips off to another world …Sara Boboltz
2
a
: lacking reason or mental soundness : foolish, irrational
batty ideas
I'm doing the battiest things: leaving my phone in the fridge and forgetting my keys.Kate Spicer
… all work and no play will drive you batty.Adam Pockross
… Old Man Winter refuses to take his snowball and go home. So we're stuck inside a little bit longer, maybe going a little batty after six months of winter.Joel Schlesinger
b
: extremely irritated, angry, or aggressive
… the relatively minor annoyances that for some reason get your goat and drive you batty.JR Raphael
Nothing drives me battier than overpaying for something I don't even enjoy.Cherie Low
… it's anyone's guess precisely why the Canadiens veteran forward went batty on New York Islanders rookie Nino Niederreiter …Dave Stubbs
battiness noun
Balancing a hat on top of a hat, David Dobkin's ''Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'' tries to add even more humor to an event already legendary for its excesses and battiness. Jeannette Catsoulis
She is believable as the often-confused but resourceful Alice, giving her a little touch of battiness. Kathy Lauer-Williams

Examples of batty in a Sentence

a batty old lady who lives with 100 cats
Recent Examples on the Web Twitter’s most recent version of the bird logo has a rationale (PDF) that is way less batty, but not necessarily less studied. Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 25 July 2023 Your kids will go batty for this fun and colorful pillow project, which doubles as cool bedroom Halloween decor. Jessica Leigh Mattern, Country Living, 24 Aug. 2022 Bat microbiomes aren't distinctly batty. Leslie Nemo, Discover Magazine, 7 Jan. 2020 The turnovers drove Arians absolutely batty. Jarrett Bell, USA TODAY, 14 Sep. 2020 That’s not to say a phone, laptop or a smartwatch will suddenly go batty after two years; the process is usually much more subtle than that. Chris Velazco, Washington Post, 13 Mar. 2023 The invented exploits of the Harfoots and their star-man guest may drive purists batty. James Poniewozik, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2022 An average person might go mildly batty listening to piped-in Christmas tunes for 10 hours a day, five days a week, for two months, but among the theme park staff are genuine believers. Melena Ryzik Stacy Kranitz, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2022 This healthy dollop of Christmas camp, which is a little batty by even Netflix holiday movie standards, is eager to give Lohan something to do. K. Austin Collins, Rolling Stone, 13 Nov. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'batty.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of batty was in 1600

Dictionary Entries Near batty

Cite this Entry

“Batty.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/batty. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

batty

adjective
bat·​ty ˈbat-ē How to pronounce batty (audio)
battier; battiest
: mentally unstable : crazy

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