hysteria

noun

hys·​te·​ria hi-ˈster-ē-ə  -ˈstir- 

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.

Synonyms

• frenzy
• rampage

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, such conditions have not even been considered to be health issues in the same way that physical ailments are, and have been dismissed as hysteria or even weakness. —Alice Park, Time, 30 Sep. 2025

The invading parasite is a culture of hate and paranoia and sadism — mass hysteria as sanctioned by the government that is supposed to protect you. —Rachel Raposas, PEOPLE, 29 Sep. 2025

Classical When Franz Liszt was at the zenith of his fame in the nineteenth century, his fans were so enthralled by his good looks and talent that his mere presence created an atmosphere of mass hysteria. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 26 Sep. 2025

McCarthy and his cronies engineered a hysteria over left-wing ideologies and their sympathizers, encouraging tactics like loyalty oaths and provoking paranoia over a suggestion that communist spies were omnipresent in America. —Maureen Lee Lenker, Entertainment Weekly, 18 Sep. 2025

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

Rhymes for hysteria

• area
• ceria
• feria
• varia
• aquaria
• gregaria
• herbaria
• malaria
• puparia
• rancheria
• araucaria
• arenaria

Kids Definition

hysteria

noun

hys·​te·​ria his-ˈter-ē-ə  -ˈtir- 

1

: a nervous disorder marked by excitability of the emotions

2

: unmanageable fear or outburst of emotion

Medical Definition

hysteria

noun

hys·​te·​ria his-ˈter-ē-ə  -ˈtir- 

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