hysteria

Meaning

1. (uncountable, usually) Behavior exhibiting excessive or uncontrollable emotions, in a wide range from joy to panic but usually including anxiety or fear.
2. (uncountable, usually) A mental disorder characterized by emotional excitability etc. without an organic cause.
3. (informal, uncountable, usually) Synonym of conversion disorder.
4. (historical, obsolete, uncountable, usually) 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.

Synonyms

frenzy

mythoplasty

delirium

hysterical neurosis

fury

hysterics

hysterism

craze

windigo

convulsions

spasms

vaporousness

conversion

Translations

hystérie

Hysterie

isteria

histeria

histèria

histeria

hysterie

isterismo

υστερία

histeri

isteri

frénésie

histerismo

verurteilen

Pronounced as (IPA)

/hɪˈstɛɹiə/

Etymology

Cognate with French: hystérie

In summary

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.