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Glite Dictionary
📜 Officially approved 🧠 Declared insane
certified

certified

9.3
Officially declared to be mentally ill and sent to a hospital
  • adjective
  • /ˈsɜrtɪfaɪd/
  • Offensive
translation icon : [OFENSIVO: 'loco']
  • He was certified as insane after the trial.

Examples

  • The judge officially declared that she was certified insane and would receive treatment.

  • After the hearing, he was declared certified and sent to a mental institution.

  • In those days, anyone deemed certified risked losing all personal rights and autonomy.

  • The novel's villain is not just evil, but certified, according to the doctors in the story.

  • The judge certified her as mentally unfit.

  • After the hearing, he was declared certified insane and sent to a mental institution.

  • In those days, anyone deemed certified insane lost all personal rights and autonomy.

Antonyms

sane
119 3.2

Having a healthy mind and able to think clearly

Compounds

certified public accountant
  • Specialized
3 3.9

An accountant who passed exams and got a state license to work professionally in the United States

certified check
  • Specialized
3 4.2

A check the bank promises will have enough money to pay someone

certified milk
  • Archaic
2.8

A type of milk that health officials check and approve as safe and clean

halal certified
3.6

An official authority approves the food or drink as allowed under Islamic rules

Surface Forms

certified positive

Morphology

certified = certify (transparent) = certify + ed

The meaning 'officially declared' (e.g., 'certified as insane') is a direct adjectival use of the past participle of 'certify'.

Etymology

Certified also had a use in law and medicine: from the same Latin certus 'sure' it could mean a person a doctor or court had 'made sure' was insane. So in older use certified can mean 'officially declared insane'.