noun ·Moderate ·High school level
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"The popular delirium [of the French Revolution] at first caught his enthusiastic mind."
"Delirium of one person is called madness. Delirium of thousands of people is called religion."
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.
Common synonyms include: frenzy, abandon, afebrile delirium, agnosia, apparition, ardor.
Delirium of one person is called madness. Delirium of thousands of people is called religion.
Pronounced /dɪˈlɪ.ɹi.əm/.
Borrowed from Latin dēlīrium (“derangement, madness”).