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

Fear of China has predictably climbed to hysteria in America, for example, banning TikTok or Chinese ownership of farmland in the United States. —Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 14 Aug. 2025

Legal challenges were our only option — but now, even the courts have been swept up in the hysteria. —Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 8 Aug. 2025

No organization likes to see tighter budgets, but such relatively modest cuts don’t justify the hysteria. —Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 25 July 2025

Hicks also laughed at the hysteria while waving his hands as the bat entered the tower. —Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 18 July 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