hysteria

[ hi-ster-ee-uh, -steer- ]
/ hɪˈstɛr i ə, -ˈstɪər- /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR hysteria ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping, etc.
Psychoanalysis. a psychoneurotic disorder characterized by violent emotional outbreaks, disturbances of sensory and motor functions, and various abnormal effects due to autosuggestion.
Psychiatry. conversion disorder.
Compare mass hysteria.

Origin of hysteria

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

OTHER WORDS FROM hysteria

sub·hys·te·ri·a, noun

Words nearby hysteria

hysterectomy, hysteresis, hysteresis loop, hysteresis loss, hystereurysis, hysteria, hysteric, hysterical, hysterical personality, hysterical psychosis, hysterics

Words related to hysteria

nervousness, madness, agitation, excitement, frenzy, delirium, panic, mirth, hysterics, unreason

Example sentences from the Web for hysteria

British Dictionary definitions for hysteria

hysteria
/ (hɪˈstɪərɪə) /

noun

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
any frenzied emotional state, esp of laughter or crying

Word Origin for hysteria

C19: from New Latin, from Latin hystericus hysteric

Medical definitions for hysteria

hysteria
[ hĭ-stĕr′ē-ə, -stîr′- ]

n.

A psychiatric disorder characterized by the presentation of a physical ailment without an organic cause.
Excessive or uncontrollable emotion, such as fear.

Other words from hysteria

hys•ter′ic (hĭ-stĕr′ĭk) null adj.

Cultural definitions for hysteria

hysteria

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.