paranoia
Americannoun
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Psychiatry. a mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions and the projection of personal conflicts, which are ascribed to the supposed hostility of others, sometimes progressing to disturbances of consciousness and aggressive acts believed to be performed in self-defense or as a mission.
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baseless or excessive suspicion of the motives of others.
noun
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a form of schizophrenia characterized by a slowly progressive deterioration of the personality, involving delusions and often hallucinations
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a mental disorder characterized by any of several types of delusions, in which the personality otherwise remains relatively intact
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informal intense fear or suspicion, esp when unfounded
Usage
What does paranoia mean? Paranoia is a mental disorder characterized by delusions and feelings of extreme distrust, suspicion, and being targeted by others. Paranoia is also commonly used more generally to mean extreme suspicion or irrational distrust of others. It’s important to understand that while paranoia is used generally outside of its psychiatric usage in a way that makes it seem less serious, having paranoia is a major symptom of disorders like paranoid schizophrenia and paranoid personality disorder. The adjective paranoid can be used to describe a person, action, or thought that exhibits paranoia. A rare alternate spelling for the word is paranoea. Example: Locking my doors at night isn’t a sign of paranoia—it just means I’m being cautious.
Discover More
In popular terminology, a “paranoid” personality is characterized by suspicion and distrust of others; a tendency to look for hidden meaning behind other people's actions; argumentativeness; complaining; low tolerance for criticism; and a constant display of one's own talents, accomplishments, independence, and rationality.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of paranoia
First recorded in 1805–15; from New Latin, from Greek paránoia “madness,” from paráno(os) “demented” (equivalent to para- 1 + nous ) + -ia -ia
Explanation
Something that happens to a person's thinking can lead to paranoia. You may believe that your friends no longer like you, but it's just that your paranoia makes you suspicious of everyone. Paranoia is from the Greek para-, "beyond, irregular," and noos, "mind." It is an irregularity of the mind, a mental disorder that distorts a person's perception of what is real. Someone with paranoia may believe that other people are out to get them or are watching them all the time. Doctors who treat paranoia look for causes, and while patients can develop the disorder gradually and sometimes due to life circumstances, such as abuse or neglect, the use and abuse of drugs can also cause paranoia.
Vocabulary lists containing paranoia
"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
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The Perks of Being a Wallflower
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"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (1950)
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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:
The building, filled to its ceilings, grew increasingly dilapidated; Langley’s paranoia about suspected intruders led him to build mazes of detritus to throw them off.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2026
On June 9, he’s launching “Tea & Scotch” on YouTube, which delves into more observational comedy subjects such as ghost-seeing cats, AI paranoia and parenting a teenager.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Ms. Arno treats the affair with tact, showing how persecution and paranoia can become entangled without becoming identical.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026
The result in Beijing verged at times towards collective paranoia.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
“In North Korea, paranoia was a rational response to real conditions and it helped these people survive,” said Kim Hee-kyung, a clinical psychologist who spoke to me in her office at Hanawon.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
He described the car as a “mobile fortress” and paints an exceedingly dour view of a desolate city center disconnected from suburbs rife with paranoias about security.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2021
It’s an uncanny combination of paranoias and legitimate concerns, but it’s undeniably working.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2020
YG’s present-day concerns and paranoias revitalized the heavy legacy of West Coast hip-hop, and the album became a contemporary classic, if there can be such a thing.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 13, 2018
I think it’s quite similar – we both have some of the same little writing paranoias.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 14, 2017
I remembered the walls made of grain sacks and ammunition boxes, of my father’s fears and paranoias, his scriptures and prophecies.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
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.
