hysterical
adjective
hys·ter·i·cal
hi-ˈster-i-kəl 
1
or less commonly hysteric
: of, relating to, or marked by hysteria
hysterical conditions
2
: feeling or showing extreme and unrestrained emotion
hysterical fans
… the paper did not hesitate to appeal to racial passions in hysterical headlines and rabid editorials.—
The New Yorker
The New Yorker3
informal
: very funny
a hysterical movie/joke
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
Pantochino Productions, the singularly silly, strange and hysterical small theater company that has worked out of the Milford Arts Council (MAC) for the past 16 years, occupies a unique place in the Connecticut theater landscape.
—Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 8 June 2026
Then Elizabeth’s sister Lydia (Jenna Coleman) shows up uninvited and hysterical; her still-caddish husband, George Wickham (Matthew Goode), had an argument with his friend Capt.
—Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
This was a Jean Paul Gualitier wrap that challenged traditional notions of how a top male soccer player should appear, sending the British tabloids into a hysterical spin.
—Sheena McKenzie, CNN Money, 7 June 2026
Vomiting itself is a very expressive, hysterical—in the Freudian sense—act.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 7 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for hysterical
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Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 8 June 2026
Then Elizabeth’s sister Lydia (Jenna Coleman) shows up uninvited and hysterical; her still-caddish husband, George Wickham (Matthew Goode), had an argument with his friend Capt.
—Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
This was a Jean Paul Gualitier wrap that challenged traditional notions of how a top male soccer player should appear, sending the British tabloids into a hysterical spin.
—Sheena McKenzie, CNN Money, 7 June 2026
Vomiting itself is a very expressive, hysterical—in the Freudian sense—act.
—Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 7 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for hysterical
Cite this Entry
“Hysterical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hysterical. Accessed 15 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
Medical Definition
hysterical
adjective
hys·ter·i·cal
-ˈter-i-kəl
variants
also hysteric
: of, relating to, or marked by hysteria
during hysterical conditions various functions of the human body are disordered—Morris Fishbein
Morris FishbeinLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
