neurotic
1 Americanadjective
noun
adjective
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
Sturgis specializes in these kinds of neurotic eccentrics, but his portrayal didn’t help me identify Ru’s secret appeal or believe in the trauma that we later learned occurred when his car broke down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
The neurotic self-policing about the supposed rules of engagement has given way to something that looks more like confidence.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
Germany is uniquely neurotic about debt and about unsound money.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
Arsenal’s quest to end a two-decade dry spell hasn’t exactly been helped by one of the most neurotic fan bases in Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026
I was wrong of course, morbid, stupid; this was the hyper-sensitive behaviour of a neurotic, not the normal happy self I knew myself to be.
From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier
For all his virtuosity, Wallace specialized in erudite neurotics from Middle America who suffer from various degrees of mental illness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2022
What they will find is a brilliant ensemble of self-centered neurotics who somehow manage to be likable, despite their best efforts.
From New York Times ● Nov. 26, 2021
They attack the very shelter nature had given them, something neurotics of all animal classes can relate to.
From Slate ● Feb. 13, 2017
Hoover's writing is not really the point, though this is the kind of writing that teaches normal teens how to behave like fledgling neurotics.
From The Verge ● Jan. 20, 2016
Dora had handled plenty of neurotics in her time.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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.
