mass hysteria
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of mass hysteria
First recorded in 1930–35
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.
“It is a virus for which humanity has no cure,” Noah tells his former colleague, implying the mass hysteria caused by the confirmation of aliens will only drive us closer to ruin.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
This is very bad, although hardly a Ghostbusters-style, apocalyptic vision that includes human sacrifice and mass hysteria.
From Barron's ● May 1, 2026
"With the look of the wolf - as we've seen with the Preston three - if you get one wandering, you get mass hysteria."
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2026
In some cases, they have attributed reported health-effects from fume exposure to factors including hyperventilation, jet lag, psychological stress, mass hysteria and malingering.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2025
At this rate we’ll have mass hysteria before too long, and when that happens we’re all goners.
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
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.
