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Synonyms

hysterically

American  
[hi-ster-ik-lee] / hɪˈstɛr ɪk li /

adverb

  1. in an unrestrained or uncontrolled way.

    Whatever she’s thinking comes out her mouth, so the whole team was hysterically laughing at her commentary on our game films.

    Keisha slid to the damp pavement in a heap and buried her face in her hands, sobbing hysterically.

  2. in a way that is very funny.

    My friend's daughter is hysterically paranoid about autoflush toilets, so we’re always on the lookout for a traditional toilet just in case.

  3. stemming from or caused by conversion disorder.

    A group of hysterically blind Cambodian women in California are the largest group of such people known in the world.


Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of hysterically

hysterical ( def. ) + -ly

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.

See Examples For:

Other influencers were less composed, with France's Maeva Ghennam who, waving her passport around, told viewers she "screamed hysterically" when she heard a strike.

From Barron's Mar. 1, 2026

George Atallah attended 16 consecutive Super Bowls when he was an executive at the NFL Players Association, and he laughed hysterically when he learned about this confluence of events.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 7, 2026

The White House posted an image of Black activist Nekima Levy Armstrong being arrested after involvement in a Minnesota church protest depicting her hysterically crying.

From Salon Feb. 6, 2026

I walked in and I was hysterically crying.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 27, 2025

They both turned their little black eyes toward me—bulging with demonic light—and clawed hysterically at the bars that were hardly holding them from escape.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

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