hysterically
Americanadverb
-
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.
-
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.
-
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
- semihysterically adverb
- unhysterically adverb
Etymology
Origin of hysterically
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.
“I remember hearing the dogs barking hysterically. ... Did he try to save the house? Did he pass out?”
From Los Angeles Times
I walked in and I was hysterically crying.
From Los Angeles Times
When police arrested Anthony, the report says, he began "crying hysterically" and saying it was self-defense.
From Salon
Elliotte smiled, Wyatt looked shocked and Bennett — then only 21 months old — simply sobbed hysterically.
From Los Angeles Times
A video that went viral at the time showed a prominent news anchor hysterically gesticulating and accusing Chakraborty of being "a druggie".
From BBC
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.
