noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
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
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.
But to her credit, Ms. Coon never turns the character into a wild-eyed hysteric or a manipulated figure of pure pathos.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
As Freeman pulled into second base, a hysteric crowd of 52,995 rose to its feet.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2022
But it spread aggressively in America just as Mr. Savage had warned it would — a prediction that earned him the ire of people who called him a hysteric and a sellout.
From New York Times • Apr. 16, 2020
"He was clearly a sort of hysteric," he says.
From BBC • Oct. 20, 2018
In the hysteric the incapacity to speak may be the single symptom.
From Human Personality and its Survival of Bodily Death by Myers, F. W. H. (Frederic William Henry)
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.
