noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   A temporary mental state with a sudden onset, usually reversible, including symptoms of confusion, inability to concentrate, disorientation, anxiety, and sometimes hallucinations. Causes can include dehydration, drug intoxication, and severe infection. countable, uncountable

   "The popular delirium [of the French Revolution] at first caught his enthusiastic mind."

2. 2
   a usually brief state of excitement and mental confusion often accompanied by hallucinations wordnet
3. 3
   Wild, frenzied excitement or ecstasy. countable, uncountable
4. 4
   state of violent mental agitation wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

crazeabandonafebrile deliriumagnosiaapparitionardor

Example

More examples

"Delirium of one person is called madness. Delirium of thousands of people is called religion."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dēlīrium (“derangement, madness”).

Related phrases

agitated deliriumexcited deliriumnocturnal deliriumdelirium tremens

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.