hysteria
Americannoun
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an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping, etc.
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Psychoanalysis. a psychoneurotic disorder characterized by violent emotional outbreaks, disturbances of sensory and motor functions, and various abnormal effects due to autosuggestion.
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Psychiatry. conversion disorder.
noun
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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
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any frenzied emotional state, esp of laughter or crying
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hysteria
First recorded in 1795–1805; hyster(ic) + -ia
Explanation
Hysteria is a medical condition or general state of extreme fear and panic. When hysteria sets in, people are out of control. In a medical sense, people who are feeling hysteria may be violent and having trouble perceiving reality. In a more general sense, when someone is hysterical, they're out of control — freaking out. Hysteria is the opposite of calmness. It's really a state of emotional chaos that often takes over during natural disasters and scary moments. Or if you're a 13 year old girl, when you go to a concert for your favorite boy band.
Vocabulary lists containing hysteria
Night
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Lord of the Flies
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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.
On TikTok and Instagram, the protein hysteria reached a fever pitch.
From Salon • May 7, 2026
This is very bad, although hardly a Ghostbusters-style, apocalyptic vision that includes human sacrifice and mass hysteria.
From Barron's • May 1, 2026
The Great One has treated backlash to his both-sides act as hysteria.
From Slate • Feb. 27, 2026
And some of the biggest software-sector declines on Friday seemed largely unrelated to the AI hysteria around Block’s layoffs.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 27, 2026
But the press and the Princeton study painted a picture of nationwide mass hysteria.
From "Spooked!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
