paranoid

American  

[par-uh-noid] / ˈpær əˌnɔɪd /

Archaic, paranoiac;

adjective

1. of, like, or experiencing paranoia.

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noun

1. a person with paranoia.

Usage

What does paranoid mean? Paranoid is an adjective used to describe someone who has the mental disorder paranoia, which is characterized by delusions and feelings of extreme distrust, suspicion, and being targeted by others. Such thoughts and actions can also be described as paranoid.Paranoid is also commonly used more generally to mean overly suspicious or irrationally distrustful of others. It’s important to understand that while paranoid is used generally outside of its psychiatric usage in a way that makes it seem less serious, being paranoid is a major symptom of disorders like paranoid schizophrenia and paranoid personality disorder.Example: Just because I lock my doors at night doesn’t mean I’m being paranoid—it just means I’m being cautious.

Etymology

Origin of paranoid

First recorded in 1900–05; paranoi(a) + -oid, with base and suffix merged, perhaps by shortening of the expected but unrecorded paranoioid

Example Sentences

Nesbitt, overheated, paranoid, jealous — it can become as tiring to the viewer as it is to the people around him — will get many things wrong before anyone sets him right.

From Los Angeles Times

These businesses were picked almost certainly because Shirley and his colleagues have tapped into the long-standing tendency of paranoid reactionaries to make day cares the subject of conspiracy theories.

From Salon

But he is also so paranoid, deluded and consumed with self-loathing that throughout this caustically witty novel we can’t help but root for him every step of the way.

From The Wall Street Journal

Jenny became "very paranoid", searching her home for recording devices, keeping curtains closed and checking friends and family's phones to see if they were speaking to journalists.

From BBC

Struthers’s advice: Don’t be paranoid, but do be attentive and proactive.

From The Wall Street Journal