hysterical
Americanadjective
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uncontrollably emotional.
-
irrational from fear, emotion, or an emotional shock.
-
causing unrestrained laughter; very funny.
Oh, that joke is hysterical!
- Synonyms:
- ludicrous, laughable, uproarious, hilarious
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Psychoanalysis, Psychiatry.
adjective
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of or suggesting hysteria
hysterical cries
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suffering from hysteria
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informal wildly funny
Usage
More context on hysterical In everyday usage, hysterical means "uncontrollably emotional."But guess who usually gets marked with that label? Women. What’s more, hysterical comes from the Greek word for "womb." It was once thought that hysteria was a condition that only affected women—and was caused by disturbances in the uterus.
Given the sexism associated with this word, hysterical isn’t exactly a laughing matter.
If knowing the history of hysterical has got you reflecting on your word choices, this slideshow, "These Common Words Have Offensive Histories," discusses many other words whose place in your vocab you may want to reconsider.Other Word Forms
- hysterically adverb
- overhysterical adjective
- posthysterical adjective
- semihysterical adjective
- unhysterical adjective
Etymology
Origin of hysterical
First recorded in 1605–15; from Latin hysteric(us) hysteric + -al 1
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.
“All the boys have them,” one female White House aide told the Journal, while another joked that “it’s hysterical because everybody’s afraid not to wear them.”
From Slate • Mar. 14, 2026
Lader, 40, described "grabbing babies who were being schlepped across the street, and finding parents who were hysterical that their kids weren't here."
From Barron's • Mar. 13, 2026
But when she told the nursery manager and deputy manager in early 2024, she says they made her feel like a "hysterical mum" who was exaggerating.
From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026
Fans of Ole Miss, Florida and LSU are so hysterical that they’re tracking private planes and staking out airports.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025
The space inside the cage became a blur of bulging bird eyes, a cloud of thatching hay, and a pair of blue-and-orange wings battering the walls in every direction with a hysterical thwap, thwap, thwap!
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
