hysteria

[hi-ster-ee-uh, -steer-]

noun

1. an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping, etc.

2. Psychoanalysis.,  a psychoneurotic disorder characterized by violent emotional outbreaks, disturbances of sensory and motor functions, and various abnormal effects due to autosuggestion.

3. Psychiatry.,  conversion disorder.

hysteria

/ hɪˈstɪərɪə /

noun

1. a mental disorder characterized by emotional outbursts, susceptibility to autosuggestion, and, often, symptoms such as paralysis that mimic the effects of physical disorders See also conversion disorder

2. any frenzied emotional state, esp of laughter or crying

hysteria

1. A complex neurosis in which psychological conflict is turned into physical symptoms, such as amnesia, blindness, and paralysis, that have no underlying physical cause. Early in his career, Sigmund Freud worked on hysteria.

Other Word Forms

• subhysteria noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hysteria¹

First recorded in 1795–1805; hyster(ic) + -ia

Word History and Origins

Origin of hysteria¹

C19: from New Latin, from Latin hystericus _hysteric

Example Sentences

But Penelope knew that if Lady Constance saw her entertaining an actual caller—and a young gentleman, mind you!—there would be no end to the hysteria.

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But, amidst the hysteria and the celebrations, Emery and his team were more measured, and Unai's objective analysis of the triumph was clear.

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I don’t doubt that the left’s hysteria is overdone.

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Ukraine has rejected accusations of meddling in Hungarian elections as absurd hysteria.

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Naturally, The Times was also ensnared by the hysteria of Roan’s arrival in Pasadena.

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Related Words

• agitation 
• delirium 
• excitement 
• frenzy 
• madness 
• nervousness 
• panic