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folie à deux

American  
[fo-lee uh doo, faw-lee a ] / fɒˈli ə ˈdu, fɔ li a ˈdœ /

noun

Psychiatry.
folies à deux plural
  1. the sharing of delusional ideas by two people who are closely associated.


folie à deux British  
/ ˈfɒlɪ æ ˈdɜː /

noun

  1. psychiatry mental illness occurring simultaneously in two intimately related persons who share some of the elements of the illness, such as delusions

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of folie à deux

Borrowed into English from French around 1890–95

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:

It deals with the shared life — call it madness, if you will — of a husband and a wife, and the times when their folie à deux edges into public view.

From New York Times Apr. 16, 2020

In psychiatry there is a condition known as folie à deux, which describes how two people share a psychosis.

From Salon Jun. 21, 2019

A folie à deux is a forgivable response to the rigors of middle school.

From The New Yorker Feb. 8, 2019

It may be that your friend is in some kind of folie à deux and both she and her spouse mutually keep an insanely tight leash on each other.

From Slate Dec. 19, 2013

This small-scale tale of a dangerous folie à deux is rather like Martin Scorsese's King of Comedy or Stephen King's Misery transposed to Merseyside, a tale of celebrity worship gone off the rails.

From The Guardian Jun. 5, 2010

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