mass hysteria
noun Psychology.
a condition affecting a group of persons, characterized by excitement or anxiety, irrational behavior or beliefs, or inexplicable symptoms of illness.
Also called
epidemic hysteria.
Origin of mass hysteria
First recorded in 1930–35
Words nearby mass hysteria
mass affluent,
mass book,
mass card,
mass defect,
mass extinction,
mass hysteria,
mass in,
mass leave,
mass man,
mass media,
mass medium
Medical definitions for mass hysteria
mass hysteria
n.
Spontaneous, en masse development of identical physical or emotional symptoms among a group of individuals, as in a classroom of schoolchildren.
A socially contagious frenzy of irrational behavior in a group of people as a reaction to an event.