neurosis

neu·ro·sis

noun \nu̇-ˈrō-səs, nyu̇-\

plural neu·ro·ses \-ˌsēz\

Definition of NEUROSIS

: a mental and emotional disorder that affects only part of the personality, is accompanied by a less distorted perception of reality than in a psychosis, does not result in disturbance of the use of language, and is accompanied by various physical, physiological, and mental disturbances (as visceral symptoms, anxieties, or phobias)

Examples of NEUROSIS

1. LBJ by legend watched the evening news about Vietnam simultaneously on three TVs, a ticket to a neurosis and night sweats. —Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal, 2 Dec. 2005
2. He's self-conscious about few things, period, and so utterly lacking in neurosis that it's unnerving, frankly. —Ned Zeman, Vanity Fair, February 2001
3. None of this official intervention did much to calm the fretfulness about maidservants, for the anxiety about their being both unreliable yet indispensable marked the birth of an authentically bourgeois neurosis. —Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches, 1988

Origin of NEUROSIS

New Latin

First Known Use: circa 1784

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Rhymes with NEUROSIS

cirrhosis, hypnosis, kenosis, lordosis, meiosis, miosis, mitosis, narcosis, necrosis, orthosis, osmosis, prognosis, psychosis, sclerosis, stenosis, thrombosis

neu·ro·sis

noun \n(y)u̇-ˈrō-səs\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural neu·ro·ses \-ˌsēz\

Medical Definition of NEUROSIS

: a mental and emotional disorder that affects only part of the personality, is accompanied by a less distorted perception of reality than in a psychosis, does not result in disturbance of the use of language, and is accompanied by various physical, physiological, and mental disturbances (as visceral symptoms, anxieties, or phobias)

neurosis

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Mental and emotional disorder that affects only part of the personality, is accompanied by a less distorted perception of reality than in a psychosis, and is characterized by various physiological and mental disturbances (such as visceral symptoms and impaired concentration). The neuroses include anxiety attacks, certain forms of depression, hypochondriasis, hysterical reactions, obsessive-compulsive disorders, phobias, various sexual dysfunctions, and some tics. They have traditionally been thought to be based on emotional conflict in which a blocked impulse seeks expression in a disguised response or symptom. Behavioral psychologists regard them as learned, inappropriate responses to stress, which can be unlearned.