hysteria

American  

[hi-ster-ee-uh, -steer-] / hɪˈstɛr i ə, -ˈstɪər- /

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.

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hysteria British  

/ 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

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hysteria Cultural  

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.

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Other Word Forms

• subhysteria noun

Etymology

Origin of hysteria

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

Example Sentences

And yet it is precisely a lack of hyperbole or hysteria—a quieting control, one might say—that makes it so moving.

From The Wall Street Journal

Russia's President Vladimir Putin dismissed such talk as "hysteria" on Wednesday.

From BBC

He echoed similar statements about Russia's intentions made by Western intelligence agencies, which Moscow dismisses as hysteria.

From BBC

"Avoid gossiping and talking about your friend or about their partner to others who could whip up hysteria," Shaheen-Zaffar tells the BBC.

From BBC

And yet it is precisely a lack of hyperbole or hysteria—a quieting control, one might say — that makes it so moving.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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