delirium
noun
de·lir·i·um
di-ˈlir-ē-əm 
1
: an acute (see acute sense 1a(2)) mental disturbance characterized by confused thinking and disrupted attention usually accompanied by disordered speech and hallucinations
2
: frenzied excitement
he would stride about his room in a delirium of joy—
Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Wolfea crowd in a state of delirium
Synonyms
Examples of delirium in a Sentence
In her delirium, nothing she said made any sense.
shoppers running around in a delirium the day before Christmas
Recent Examples on the Web
The swirl of cartoon physics and comic melodrama is fantastical and otherworldly, as if survivalists in the wild had access to home-movie equipment to chart their increasing delirium.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024
On the run with Huck, Jim debates Voltaire and Locke while dreaming, including during a period of delirium brought on by a venomous snakebite.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Ground from a mineral called cinnabar, the substance would have sent them into a fevered trance with tremors and delirium.
—Bridget Alex, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024
For example, delirium can be caused by old age, hospitalization, a major surgery, substance use, medication or infections, said Sarah Slocum, a psychiatrist in Exeter, N.H., who co-authored a review of excited delirium published in 2022.
—Samantha Young, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023
For example, the researchers stated, doctors may make different assessments of the level of delirium or agitation of a non-English-speaking patient compared to an English-speaking patient.
—Emi Tuyetnhi Tran, NBC News, 23 Feb. 2024
Related article Emergency medical association rejects ‘excited delirium,’ used to describe some deaths in police custody
In 2019, Colorado paramedics administered ketamine to 23-year-old Elijah McClain, who was Black, after he was diagnosed with excited delirium.
—Kaitlyn Schwanemann, CNN, 15 Feb. 2024
His family visited, and friends stayed for a week or more at a time to help with his care before and after the CAR-T treatment, since the neurological side effects can be severe, from seizures and tremors to persistent delirium.
—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023
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
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024
On the run with Huck, Jim debates Voltaire and Locke while dreaming, including during a period of delirium brought on by a venomous snakebite.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Ground from a mineral called cinnabar, the substance would have sent them into a fevered trance with tremors and delirium.
—Bridget Alex, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Mar. 2024
For example, delirium can be caused by old age, hospitalization, a major surgery, substance use, medication or infections, said Sarah Slocum, a psychiatrist in Exeter, N.H., who co-authored a review of excited delirium published in 2022.
—Samantha Young, Los Angeles Times, 12 Oct. 2023
For example, the researchers stated, doctors may make different assessments of the level of delirium or agitation of a non-English-speaking patient compared to an English-speaking patient.
—Emi Tuyetnhi Tran, NBC News, 23 Feb. 2024
Related article Emergency medical association rejects ‘excited delirium,’ used to describe some deaths in police custody
In 2019, Colorado paramedics administered ketamine to 23-year-old Elijah McClain, who was Black, after he was diagnosed with excited delirium.
—Kaitlyn Schwanemann, CNN, 15 Feb. 2024
His family visited, and friends stayed for a week or more at a time to help with his care before and after the CAR-T treatment, since the neurological side effects can be severe, from seizures and tremors to persistent delirium.
—Casey Cep, The New Yorker, 4 Dec. 2023
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
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'delirium.' 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 delirium
Cite this Entry
“Delirium.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/delirium. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
delirium
noun
de·lir·i·um
di-ˈlir-ē-əm
1
: a mental disturbance marked by confusion, disturbed speech, and hallucinations
2
: wild excitement
Medical Definition
delirium
noun
de·lir·i·um
di-ˈlir-ē-əm
: an acute (see acute sense 2b(1)) mental disturbance characterized by confused thinking and disrupted attention usually accompanied by disordered speech and hallucinations
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