How to Use maniacal in a Sentence

maniacal

adjective
  • There would be no killing with maniacal leisure on this day, in this store.
    — Jeff Eager, WSJ, 9 Sep. 2022
  • This might sound like a maniacal threat fit for a Bond villain.
    — Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, 23 Feb. 2018
  • Belly laughs echo through the rafters as the dogs run maniacal circles through the house.
    — Ashlea Halpern, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Sep. 2021
  • Veneziale then takes part in the action, dressing up as a maniacal clown.
    — Laura Kiniry, Popular Science, 22 Oct. 2025
  • But legal light had been over for a while, and the maniacal howls and yips of coyotes were all around me.
    — Will Brantley, Field & Stream, 9 Jan. 2023
  • Even when discussing this premise, his maniacal desire to win seeps through.
    — Zach Berman, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2026
  • If things got a bit hairy, a fast health boost shot to the chest quickly got me back to my near-maniacal slashfest.
    — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 7 Dec. 2020
  • Now, all Max needs is a step brother and a maniacal little sis!
    — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, 2 Jan. 2019
  • The result of their maniacal pursuit of such extremes is plain to see.
    — Ben Cohen, WSJ, 2 Oct. 2020
  • The smile, as a signifier of maniacal fear, goes back a long way.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Sep. 2022
  • The volunteer stops speaking, and a slow, maniacal smile spreads across his face.
    — Kathryn Kvas, The New Yorker, 31 Dec. 2024
  • But also keep an eye out for the maniacal inhabitants of this scare zone.
    — Kathleen Christiansen, orlandosentinel.com, 28 Sep. 2020
  • Some of it is gut feeling based the maniacal want Cristobal has steeled in his players.
    — Miami Herald, 15 Jan. 2026
  • During the casting process, did everyone have to put their most maniacal smile on tape?
    — Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Oct. 2022
  • His party-boy energy borders on the maniacal, and his club-ready rhythms flirt with the bizarre.
    — Billboard Staff, Billboard, 11 Feb. 2022
  • Leave it to Lady Gaga to give one of the most famous faces in the world a maniacal makeover.
    — Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 25 Sep. 2024
  • The twists hit quickly, and you’re left satisfied, an amuse-bouche of life among maniacal rich people.
    — William Earl, Variety, 9 June 2025
  • There's a lot of arrogance in the business and a lot of maniacal people in the business.
    — Nigel Smith, Peoplemag, 7 Nov. 2023
  • That took some getting used to, as did the maniacal focus on stripping the ball and protecting the ball.
    — Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Jan. 2025
  • And now whoever is maniacal enough to torture us controls the stereo.
    — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 3 Aug. 2022
  • But there was a hint of the maniacal as that finale began, as if the third movement’s eeriness had lingered.
    — Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2024
  • Halloween is a maniacal marathon, not a spooky sprint in Orlando.
    — Dewayne Bevil, orlandosentinel.com, 28 Oct. 2019
  • The discovery of all 12 boys alive brought with it joy and a maniacal focus on rescue.
    — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 10 July 2018
  • Still, the character’s maniacal laugh is a tipoff — and an exhausting one.
    — About That Cameo, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2022
  • This prompts a knowing glance and then an outburst of maniacal laughter from Cage who then gets back into his car and drives off.
    — Clark Collis, EW.com, 27 July 2019
  • Might the delivery and direction have been more raw, more disturbing — maybe the choice for a hint of maniacal ?
    — Michelle F. Solomon, Miami Herald, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Green, long viewed as Golden State’s engine, has been very good but somewhat less maniacal.
    — Ben Golliver, SI.com, 4 Apr. 2018
  • But while the woman is tearful, Cunanan is hiding what looks like a maniacal smile behind his hand.
    — Emma Dibdin, Harper's BAZAAR, 18 Jan. 2018
  • Then the Oval Office recordings — maniacal, foul, racist — came out.
    — Michael S. Rosenwald, Washington Post, 21 Feb. 2018
  • For Sarah, getting Grace to marry her son was all part of a maniacal stealing-from-seniors plan.
    — Carly Mallenbaum, USA TODAY, 18 Jan. 2020

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

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