hysteria

noun

hys·​te·​ria hi-ˈster-ē-ə How to pronounce hysteria (audio) -ˈstir- How to pronounce hysteria (audio)
1
: a psychoneurosis marked by emotional excitability and disturbances of the psychogenic, sensory, vasomotor, and visceral (see visceral sense 4) functions
2
: behavior exhibiting overwhelming or unmanageable fear or emotional excess
political hysteria
The plague had caused mass hysteria in the village.

Examples of hysteria in a Sentence

A few of the children began to scream, and soon they were all caught up in the hysteria. Wartime hysteria led to many unfair accusations of treachery. The spreading of the disease caused mass hysteria in the village.
Recent Examples on the Web For centuries, medicine viewed shaking as a symptom of hysteria; spasms and fits as evidence of delirium. Rachel Sherman Lanna Apisukh, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023 In short, the Tramp was an Everyman, and his creator became, to his not completely happy surprise, an object of fan hysteria on a par with Rudolph Valentino. Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023 James Robenalt sets out to analyze the bullet’s significance in a clinical manner, with his lack of hysteria and careful analysis making up for his somewhat dry approach. Carolyn Wells, Longreads, 15 Sep. 2023 Heatherwick’s contribution to this long saga of opprobrium is a tone of quiet hysteria mixed with patient explanation. Justin Davidson, Curbed, 23 Oct. 2023 Everyone exhausted but elated and hysteria is only like a second away. Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Oct. 2023 Profs and Pints: Early American Witch Hunts at Crooked Run Explore the colonial hysteria that led to the Salem witch hunts in a lecture by Richard Bell, professor of history at the University of Maryland, at Sterling’s Crooked Run Fermentation. Adele Chapin, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2023 In the 1920s, xenophobic anxieties and hysteria surrounding rising numbers of immigrants entering the country were mounting across the U.S. Cat Cardenas, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023 Charcot believed that hysteria was a hereditary neurological condition—a state akin to a hypnotic trance that caused epileptic episodes and delirium. Hannah Zeavin, The New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hysteria.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from English hysteric, adjective, from Latin hystericus, from Greek hysterikos, from hystera womb; from the Greek notion that hysteria was peculiar to women and caused by disturbances of the uterus

First Known Use

1772, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hysteria was in 1772

Dictionary Entries Near hysteria

Cite this Entry

“Hysteria.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hysteria. Accessed 28 Nov. 2023.

Kids Definition

hysteria

noun
hys·​te·​ria his-ˈter-ē-ə How to pronounce hysteria (audio) -ˈtir- How to pronounce hysteria (audio)
1
: a nervous disorder marked by excitability of the emotions
2
: unmanageable fear or outburst of emotion
hysterical adjective
hysterically adverb

Medical Definition

hysteria

noun
hys·​te·​ria his-ˈter-ē-ə How to pronounce hysteria (audio) -ˈtir- How to pronounce hysteria (audio)
1
a
: a psychoneurosis marked by emotional excitability and disturbances of the psychic, sensory, vasomotor, and visceral functions without an organic basis
b
: a similar condition in domestic animals
2
: behavior exhibiting overwhelming or unmanageable fear or emotional excess

More from Merriam-Webster on hysteria

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