delirium

[ dih-leer-ee-uh m ]

/ dɪˈlɪər i əm /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR delirium ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural de·lir·i·ums, de·lir·i·a [dih-leer-ee-uh] /dɪˈlɪər i ə/.

Pathology. a more or less temporary disorder of the mental faculties, as in fevers, disturbances of consciousness, or intoxication, characterized by restlessness, excitement, delusions, hallucinations, etc.

a state of violent excitement or emotion.

Nearby words

deliquescence, deliquescent, deliration, deliriant, delirious, delirium, delirium tremens, delish, delist, delitescence, delitescent

Origin of delirium

1590–1600; < Latin dēlīrium frenzy, equivalent to dēlīr(āre) (see deliration) + -ium -ium

Related forms

sem·i·de·lir·i·um, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for delirium

I spend waking hours in a fog of delirium, punctuated by uncontrollable giggle fits, heart palpitations, and mental anguish.
YouTube’s Sleep Whisperers Are A Sexy Way To Combat Insomnia|Lizzie Crocker|May 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It's not delirium tremors and chromosome breakage and only a small number of users would be seriously harmed.
Weed Gave My Family Everything—Then Took It Away|Abby Haglage|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Republicans were never overwhelmed by Mitt Romney; the Democratic delirium for Barack Obama faded two recovery summers ago.
The Penn & Teller Election|David Frum|April 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was the delirium of the Revolution, himself a living delirium!
History of the Girondists, Volume I|Alphonse de Lamartine

Dannie was talking softly in his delirium, in the broken sentences that tell of rapid respiration.
Pickett's Gap|Homer Greene
In Begmand's cottage Marianne lay raving in delirium, and the neighbour who attended her said she had the fever.
Garman and Worse|Alexander Lange Kielland
No; what was alarming at Poor Luck Barrens was not a frenzy of insanity—it was the delirium of pneumonia.
Billy Topsail, M.D.|Norman Duncan
In mild cases it may continue until the occurrence of convalescence, but in grave cases it is soon lost in delirium.
A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I|Various

British Dictionary definitions for delirium

delirium

/ (dɪˈlɪrɪəm) /

noun plural -liriums or -liria (-ˈlɪrɪə)

a state of excitement and mental confusion, often accompanied by hallucinations, caused by high fever, poisoning, brain injury, etc

violent excitement or emotion; frenzy

Derived Forms

deliriant, adjective

Word Origin for delirium

C16: from Latin: madness, from dēlīrāre, literally: to swerve from a furrow, hence be crazy, from de- + līra ridge, furrow

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medicine definitions for delirium

delirium

[ dĭ-lîr′ē-əm ]

n. pl. de•lir•i•ums

A temporary state of mental confusion resulting from high fever, intoxication, shock, or other causes, and characterized by anxiety, disorientation, memory impairment, hallucinations, trembling, and incoherent speech.