Noun: hysteria hi'steer-ee-u
- State of violent mental agitation
"The rock musician worked the crowd of young girls into a hysteria";
- craze, delirium, frenzy, fury
- Excessive or uncontrollable fear
"The crowd was gripped by hysteria as the fire spread"
- Neurotic disorder characterized by violent emotional outbreaks and disturbances of sensory and motor functions
"During her episodes of hysteria, she would experience temporary blindness and uncontrollable crying";
- hysterical neurosis [archaic]
Derived forms: hysterias
Type of: fear, fearfulness, fright, mania, manic disorder, neurosis, neuroticism, psychoneurosis
Encyclopedia: Hysteria