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
The cause for the internment was said to be paranoid psychosis.
—
Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
More than Russian bots or click-hungry algorithms, a crisis of trust and legitimacy seems to lie behind the proliferation of paranoid falsehoods.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
James bites into George’s arm without warning, bolts into a river during a paranoid episode and is generally prone to outbursts or locking himself in his chambers.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
In that paranoid environment, all anyone cared about was not incurring Pecker’s wrath and being fired.
—Lachlan Cartwright, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
But the past and the present never fully come together – the generous-hearted teen morphing into a paranoid lady-of-the-manor occurs mostly off the page.
—Yvonne Zipp, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Mar. 2024
By prioritizing the female characters’ perspective, Bound becomes a stylish subversion of film noir conventions, allowing the women at the center to exploit the paranoid masculine posturing of the crime-movie world for personal gain.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
Dastmalchian played Thomas Schiff, a paranoid schizophrenic and former Arkham Asylum inmate that Heath Ledger’s The Joker disguised as his fellow honor guardsman during their infiltration of Commissioner Loeb’s funeral procession.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2024
Dorsey entered an insanity defense during the trial, with his attorney saying that on the day of the shooting, Dorsey was depressed, paranoid and dealing with significant life changes.
—Jade Thomas, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Apr. 2024
Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2024
More than Russian bots or click-hungry algorithms, a crisis of trust and legitimacy seems to lie behind the proliferation of paranoid falsehoods.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 15 Apr. 2024
James bites into George’s arm without warning, bolts into a river during a paranoid episode and is generally prone to outbursts or locking himself in his chambers.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Apr. 2024
In that paranoid environment, all anyone cared about was not incurring Pecker’s wrath and being fired.
—Lachlan Cartwright, New York Times, 3 Apr. 2024
But the past and the present never fully come together – the generous-hearted teen morphing into a paranoid lady-of-the-manor occurs mostly off the page.
—Yvonne Zipp, The Christian Science Monitor, 28 Mar. 2024
By prioritizing the female characters’ perspective, Bound becomes a stylish subversion of film noir conventions, allowing the women at the center to exploit the paranoid masculine posturing of the crime-movie world for personal gain.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 27 Mar. 2024
Dastmalchian played Thomas Schiff, a paranoid schizophrenic and former Arkham Asylum inmate that Heath Ledger’s The Joker disguised as his fellow honor guardsman during their infiltration of Commissioner Loeb’s funeral procession.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2024
Dorsey entered an insanity defense during the trial, with his attorney saying that on the day of the shooting, Dorsey was depressed, paranoid and dealing with significant life changes.
—Jade Thomas, The Indianapolis Star, 5 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'paranoid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near paranoid
Cite this Entry
“Paranoid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paranoid. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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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