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hysteria

American  
[hi-ster-ee-uh, -steer-] / hɪˈstɛr i ə, -ˈstɪər- /

noun

  1. an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping, etc.

  2. Psychoanalysis. a psychoneurotic disorder characterized by violent emotional outbreaks, disturbances of sensory and motor functions, and various abnormal effects due to autosuggestion.

  3. Psychiatry. conversion disorder.

hysteria British  
/ hɪˈstɪərɪə /

noun

  1. a mental disorder characterized by emotional outbursts, susceptibility to autosuggestion, and, often, symptoms such as paralysis that mimic the effects of physical disorders See also conversion disorder

  2. any frenzied emotional state, esp of laughter or crying

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
hysteria Cultural  

  1. A complex neurosis in which psychological conflict is turned into physical symptoms, such as amnesia, blindness, and paralysis, that have no underlying physical cause. Early in his career, Sigmund Freud worked on hysteria.

Other Word Forms

  • subhysteria noun

Etymology

Origin of hysteria

First recorded in 1795–1805; hyster(ic) + -ia

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’s not helpful, and your children will absorb your hysteria.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

The Great One has treated backlash to his both-sides act as hysteria.

From Slate • Feb. 27, 2026

That decision prompted Jim Paterson, Lomond Banks' development director, to say opponents of the plan had run a campaign with "baseless and offensive" claims about the plan, claiming this was rooted in "hysteria and mistruth".

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2026

The gig started as a one-time guest role but “ignited a fan hysteria so intense,” Falchuk said, that the show was rewritten to make Dane a leading man.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

Sometimes I found myself cackling on the verge of hysteria when I was stacking bottles of no-name brands of dishwashing liquid.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

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.