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
Synonyms
Examples of hysterical in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The hysterical and conspiratorial reaction to Middleton’s absence from public life — on medical grounds, mind you — is telling.
—Louis Staples, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024
McGregor’s cheeky performance (his first scene is hysterical) leads to a cacophony of bloody, outrageous fights with Brandt.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
And then there’s all the original music — both hysterical and farcical (as created by the writers and music director Jeff Richmond) and sometimes profound (when written by Bareilles).
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 7 Mar. 2024
Popular writing on vaccine skepticism often denigrates white and middle-class mothers who reject some or all recommended vaccines as hysterical, misinformed, zealous or ignorant.
—Johanna Richlin, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2024
Worse, some might be hysterical, and everyone would be looking at me.
—Emily Ziff Griffin, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2024
Yeun and Wong are mesmerizing and hysterical, even with broken bones and bloodied faces, spewing rambling self-reflections that get to the core of the series’ existential themes of rage and isolation.
—Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2023
With exceedingly catchy music from country songwriters Brandy Clark and Shane McNally and a hysterical book from Broadway vet Robert Horn (Tootsie), Shucked follows the story of Cob County, a town grappling with a corn blight that threatens to end their way of life.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 14 Dec. 2023
When Diane called on her drive over, Vanessa was hysterical, yelling that Rodney was dead.
—Molly Langmuir, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2024
Louis Staples, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024
McGregor’s cheeky performance (his first scene is hysterical) leads to a cacophony of bloody, outrageous fights with Brandt.
—Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
And then there’s all the original music — both hysterical and farcical (as created by the writers and music director Jeff Richmond) and sometimes profound (when written by Bareilles).
—Michael Schneider, Variety, 7 Mar. 2024
Popular writing on vaccine skepticism often denigrates white and middle-class mothers who reject some or all recommended vaccines as hysterical, misinformed, zealous or ignorant.
—Johanna Richlin, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2024
Worse, some might be hysterical, and everyone would be looking at me.
—Emily Ziff Griffin, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2024
Yeun and Wong are mesmerizing and hysterical, even with broken bones and bloodied faces, spewing rambling self-reflections that get to the core of the series’ existential themes of rage and isolation.
—Ew Staff Published, EW.com, 12 Dec. 2023
With exceedingly catchy music from country songwriters Brandy Clark and Shane McNally and a hysterical book from Broadway vet Robert Horn (Tootsie), Shucked follows the story of Cob County, a town grappling with a corn blight that threatens to end their way of life.
—Christian Holub, EW.com, 14 Dec. 2023
When Diane called on her drive over, Vanessa was hysterical, yelling that Rodney was dead.
—Molly Langmuir, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hysterical.' 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 hysterical
Cite this Entry
“Hysterical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hysterical. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical 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
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