Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Dazed or distracted with romantic sentiment.
  • adjective Mentally deranged; crazy.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Affected or regarded as affected in mind or health by the light of the moon; lunatic; crazed; dazed.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Mentally affected or deranged by the supposed influence of the moon; lunatic.
  • adjective Produced by the supposed influence of the moon.
  • adjective Made sick by the supposed influence of the moon, as a human being; made unsuitable for food, as fishes, by such supposed influence.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective obsolete crazy or insane when affected by the phases of the Moon.
  • adjective by extension Showing irrational behaviour, especially of a romantic or sentimental nature.
  • adjective obsolete Made sick, or (like fishes) unsuitable for food, by the supposed influence of the Moon.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective insane and believed to be affected by the phases of the moon

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From the belief that the moon caused mental disorders.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

moon +‎ struck

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Examples

Comments

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  • I can find dictionary references for both moonstruck and moon-stricken, but moonstrike seems not to have come into being except as the name of a B.B.C. television series. Presumably because only the moon can render people moonstruck, which it just does by striking them.

    January 14, 2009

  • Moonstruck. The definitions and etymologies focus on the first syllable and ignore the second. I think there is hidden significance in "struck." The distant silver orb is quiet, tranquil. It doesn't threaten. Then why is a word describing violence appended?

    March 30, 2010

  • If you go to strike and look at the etymologies, some of the early senses are quite sensual rather than violent: stroke, rub, graze, etc.

    I don't follow VO's logic. Sort of. I just wish he'd explained it better.

    March 30, 2010

  • I got moon-mugged once; I was being followed by a moonshadow!

    April 1, 2010

  • Once, during a party at a friend's apartment in Cottesloe, Western Australia, I opened the fridge and some green cheese fell onto my foot.

    April 1, 2010

  • Keith elected not to travel on the tour bus with Pete, Roger and John.

    April 1, 2010

  • I'd better see NASA about returning this lorry to its owner.

    April 1, 2010

  • Yesterday, I got hit by these.

    April 5, 2010