hysteric

[ hi-ster-ik ]

See synonyms for: hysteric hysterics on Thesaurus.com

noun

Usually hysterics. a fit of uncontrollable laughter or weeping; hysteria.
a person subject to hysteria.

adjective

hysterical.

Origin of hysteric

1650–60; <Latin hystericus<Greek hysterikós, suffering in the womb, hysterical (reflecting the Greeks' belief that hysteria was peculiar to women and caused by disturbances in the uterus); see hystero-, -ic

Other words from hysteric

an·ti·hys·ter·ic, noun, adjective

Words that may be confused with hysteric

hysterics , histrionics

Words Nearby hysteric

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hysteric in a sentence

Think of the fearless suffragists, who were deemed hysteric.
Declared Insane for Speaking Up: The Dark American History of Silencing Women Through Psychiatry | Kate Moore | June 22, 2021 | Time
Or, they could distort the contents of the bill and attack anyone who disagreed with them as a legal Luddite and hysteric.
Are Opponents of Arizona's Anti-Gay Law Eager to Deceive? | Kirsten Powers | March 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
On Bates Motel, Vera Farmiga masterfully transforms a would-be harridan into a new kind of protagonist: the sensual hysteric.
‘Bates Motel’: Ken Tucker Praises Vera Farmiga’s Knife-Sharp Performance | Ken Tucker | May 6, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
In short, he was still perfectly maintaining that biblical "is he a prophet, is he a hysteric" look.
For One Night, Larry Kramer's Not Angry | Jacob Bernstein | April 27, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
The same holds true for the hysteric in whom also, of course, the subconscious takes hold of the inner life.
Psychotherapy | Hugo Mnsterberg

This was followed by a bustle among the servants, and screams as of a person in an hysteric fit.
The Blue Jar Story Book | Maria Edgeworth
There was a sort of glorying in its deep tone; it was not the hollow hysteric of shame and despair—it spoke a sanguine joyousness!
Night and Morning, Complete | Edward Bulwer-Lytton
hysteric shudders were shaking her every few seconds, and her eyes were blinded with weeping.
In Connection with the De Willoughby Claim | Frances Hodgson Burnett
She laughed, as she said it, a little hysteric laugh, with suddenly moist eyes.
In Connection with the De Willoughby Claim | Frances Hodgson Burnett

British Dictionary definitions for hysteric

hysteric

/ (hɪˈstɛrɪk) /

noun

a hysterical person

adjective

hysterical

Origin of hysteric

C17: from Latin hystericus literally: of the womb, from Greek husterikos, from hustera the womb; from the belief that hysteria in women originated in disorders of the womb

See also hysterics

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

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