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definitions

mass hysteria

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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Nearby words

  1. mass affluent,
  2. mass book,
  3. mass card,
  4. mass defect,
  5. mass extinction,
  6. mass in,
  7. mass leave,
  8. mass man,
  9. mass market,
  10. mass media

Origin of mass hysteria

First recorded in 1930–35
Also called epidemic hysteria.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Medicine 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.