English Explanatory Dictionary

hysteria

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. Behavior exhibiting excessive or uncontrollable emotions, in a wide range from joy to panic but usually including anxiety or fear.
  2. A mental disorder characterized by emotional excitability etc. without an organic cause.
  3. Synonym of conversion disorder.
  4. Any disorder of women with some psychiatric symptoms without other diagnosis, ascribed to uterine influences on the female body, lack of pregnancy, or lack of sex.

Pronunciation

/hɪˈstɛɹiə/ /hɪˈstɪɹiə/ en-us-hysteria.ogg

Word forms

hysteria hysterias hysteriae hysteriæ

Etymology

From New Latin hysteria, a back-formation from Latin hystericus, from Ancient Greek ὑστερικός (husterikós, “suffering in the uterus, hysterical”), from ὑστέρα (hustéra, “womb”). Compare French hystérie.

Synonyms

conversion disorder uterine melancholy

Related words

hysteric hysterics hysterical

Derived words

anxiety hysteria Arctic hysteria canine hysteria conversion hysteria ecohysteria female hysteria homohysteria hystero- mass hysteria

Translations

Bulgarian: исте́рия Catalan: histèria Chinese Mandarin: 癔病 Finnish: hysteria Norman: maladie malinne Russian: истери́я Sinhalese: මායා රෝගය Tajik: зиён Tajik: ғаш Tajik: ҷунун
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