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

It’s not helpful, and your children will absorb your hysteria.

From The Wall Street Journal

The book also documents how poorly prepared government agencies were in dealing with infectious diseases, how social media amplified fears and how hysteria overtook science.

From The Wall Street Journal

When the Gestapo came to the barn where the woman was hidden, not the baby but the mother began to shriek with hysteria.

From Literature

Today, there are “valid concerns” about travel there, but there’s also “a lot of hype and hysteria” among those looking to travel to Mexico, Elrod said.

From MarketWatch

And some of the biggest software-sector declines on Friday seemed largely unrelated to the AI hysteria around Block’s layoffs.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

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