hysterical

adjective

hys·​ter·​i·​cal hi-ˈster-i-kəl 

1

or less commonly hysteric

hi-ˈster-ik 

: of, relating to, or marked by hysteria

hysterical conditions

2

: feeling or showing extreme and unrestrained emotion

hysterical fans

There's always a line where you don't want to be the hysterical parent yelling and demanding things because you fear it will do more harm than good …

—cafemom.com

3

informal : very funny

a hysterical movie/joke

hysterically

hi-ˈster-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms of hysterical

• funny
• humorous
• comedic
• amusing
• comical
• ridiculous
• comic
• hilarious

Examples of hysterical in a Sentence

some of the things little kids come out with are hysterical

the police officer assured the mother that there was no need to get hysterical, for most missing children are found safe and sound

upon hearing the announcement that a shark had been sighted, hysterical beachgoers raced out of the water

Recent Examples on the Web

An operator answers a call from a hysterical woman begging for help. — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 20 Aug. 2026

After years of the WNBA being ignored, the hysterical reaction to an obvious, common-sense position has made it into a laughingstock. — Ian Miller Outkick, FOXNews.com, 11 Aug. 2026

The queen is hysterical when Orwyle informs her that Sunfyre has razed the Mooton army outside Maidenpool. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026

Maher has spent decades as an increasingly acidic monitor of his homeland’s hysterical politics on his HBO show, Real Time. — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 23 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hysterical

• chimerical
• numerical
• anticlerical
• hemispherical
• clerical
• spherical

Kids Definition

hysterical

adjective

hys·​ter·​i·​cal his-ˈter-i-kəl 

1

: of, relating to, or marked by hysteria

2

: feeling or showing unrestrained emotion

hysterical fans

3

informal : very funny

hysterically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Medical Definition

hysterical

adjective

hys·​ter·​i·​cal -ˈter-i-kəl 

variants also hysteric

-ˈter-ik 

: of, relating to, or marked by hysteria

during hysterical conditions various functions of the human body are disordered

—Morris Fishbein

hysterically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb