neurotic
1 Americanadjective
noun
adjective
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of neurotic1
First recorded in 1870–75; neur(osis) + -otic
Origin of neurotic2
Explanation
If you call someone neurotic, you are saying she is stressed out. Neurotic can be a psychological term or it can be used more loosely. You may have a neurotic tendency to bite your nails or to pull out your hair. Ouch. The adjective neurotic refers to someone who shows signs of mental disturbance but does not indicate complete psychosis. Neurotic comes from neuro-, from a Greek word for "nerve." It can also describe someone with neurotic behaviors, so you can think of a neurotic as someone who has a particularly bad case of nerves.
Vocabulary lists containing neurotic
Body Parts: Neur ("Nerve")
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Neurotic and self-deprecating, typically dressed all in black, Lewis paced the stages of comedy clubs, hanging his head, pulling at his shock of black hair, riffing on his struggles in life and love.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 1, 2024
Her first autobiographical story, “Goldie: A Neurotic Woman,” appeared in the inaugural issue of the collective’s Wimmen’s Comix, published in 1972.
From New York Times • Dec. 3, 2022
Q. Neurotic neighbor: This morning a firm knock on the door introduced me to a neighbor I never knew I had.
From Slate • Feb. 9, 2021
Ben Gleib: Neurotic Gangster The former “Chelsea Lately” writer and host of the brain-teasing game show “Idiotest” performs his first one-hour special before a sold-out house at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2016
Neurotic as a rule, they seem to hunger for the stimulus which comes by association with the merely physical power and vigor of the working class.
From Violence and the Labor Movement by Hunter, Robert
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
