paranoid
adjective
para·noid
ˈper-ə-ˌnȯid 
ˌpa-rə-
variants
or less commonly paranoidal
ˌper-ə-ˈnȯi-dᵊl
ˌpa-rə-
1
: characterized by or resembling paranoia or paranoid schizophrenia
a paranoid psychiatric patient
2
: characterized by suspiciousness, persecutory trends, or megalomania
behaving in a paranoid manner with accusations of persecutions
3
: extremely fearful
was so paranoid that he was afraid to walk the streets
paranoid
noun
Examples of paranoid in a Sentence
I guess I was just being paranoid.
She's a little paranoid about her job.
It's nothing more than a paranoid fantasy.
Recent Examples on the Web
Montell looks to evolutionary biology to help explain our paranoid response to seemingly irrelevant events.
—
Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Don’t be paranoid, just be honest with yourself (and your wallet).
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
What follows is a crusade of detours, espionage and a paranoid struggle to preserve a vanishing world — and the only home he’s ever known.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 31 Aug. 2025
The micro-budget production, which follows a paranoid mathematician searching for order in the chaos of numbers, established Aronofsky as a filmmaker eager to push his vision of the city as at once shabby and gorgeous.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paranoid
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Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2025
Don’t be paranoid, just be honest with yourself (and your wallet).
—Valerie Mesa, People.com, 2 Sep. 2025
What follows is a crusade of detours, espionage and a paranoid struggle to preserve a vanishing world — and the only home he’s ever known.
—Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 31 Aug. 2025
The micro-budget production, which follows a paranoid mathematician searching for order in the chaos of numbers, established Aronofsky as a filmmaker eager to push his vision of the city as at once shabby and gorgeous.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paranoid
Cite this Entry
“Paranoid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paranoid. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
paranoid
1 of 2 adjective
para·noid
ˈpar-ə-ˌnȯid
variants
also paranoidal
1
: characterized by or resembling paranoia or paranoid schizophrenia
2
: characterized by suspiciousness, persecutory trends, or megalomania
paranoid
2 of 2 noun
: one affected with paranoia or paranoid schizophrenia
called also paranoiac
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