Insanity

An obsolete term for psychosis. Still used, however, in strictly legal contexts such as insanity defense.

A legal term for mental illness, roughly equivalent to psychosis and implying inability to be responsible for one’s acts.

A legal term describing a person who may not be convicted of a crime when it is shown that he or she is not legally responsible for the criminal behavior. Legal definitions are within (a) the Currens formula, (b) the Durham decision, or (c) the McNaghten decision. Some states also allow an insanity decision based on a psychotic condition called an irresistible impulse.

Legal term meaning the inability to distinguish right from wrong, an inability to control one’s life, or to act in a socially acceptable manner.

A degree of mental illness such that the affected individual is not responsible for his actions or is not capable of entering into a legal contract. The term is used in legal rather than medical contexts.

In legal medicine, the inability to manage one’s own affairs or take responsibility for one’s actions as a result of cognitive deficits, absence of self-control, or psychosis. The term is typically employed in courts of law or the popular press, but is not used in standard psychiatric or medical speech.

The term frequently utilized to describe a severe mental disorder, though it lacks a specific technical definition and is often employed in legal contexts.