mass hysteria
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noun Psychology.
a condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness.
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QUIZ YOURSELF ON “THEIR,” “THERE,” AND “THEY’RE”
Are you aware how often people swap around “their,” “there,” and “they’re”? Prove you have more than a fair grasp over these commonly confused words.
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Which one of these commonly confused words can act as an adverb or a pronoun?
Also called epidemic hysteria .
Origin of mass hysteria
First recorded in 1930–35
Words nearby mass hysteria
masseteric nerve, masseur, masseuse, mass extinction, Massey, mass hysteria, massicot, massif, Massif Central, massification, Massillon
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for mass hysteria
Medical definitions for mass hysteria
mass hysteria
n.
Spontaneous, en masse development of identical physical or emotional symptoms among a group of individuals, as in a classroom of schoolchildren.
A socially contagious frenzy of irrational behavior in a group of people as a reaction to an event.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.