Hebephrenia
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A form of schizophrenia characterized by inappropriate behavior and emotional responses. countable, uncountable
"Sir: drinking is a problem without doubt: / Whether or not we like it, whether or not / The goddamn thing will put you on the spot / With heebiejeebies hebephrene or gout: / Or lumbago will set you tapping out / On brass ferrule to stool, to rest, to rot."
- 2 a form of schizophrenia characterized by severe disintegration of personality including erratic speech and childish mannerisms and bizarre behavior; usually becomes evident during puberty; the most common diagnostic category in mental institutions wordnet
- 3 A type of mental disorder occurring during puberty characterized by silly behavior and inappropriate laughter. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Example
More examples"Sir: drinking is a problem without doubt: / Whether or not we like it, whether or not / The goddamn thing will put you on the spot / With heebiejeebies hebephrene or gout: / Or lumbago will set you tapping out / On brass ferrule to stool, to rest, to rot."
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἥβη (hḗbē, “youthful beauty”) (also Ἥβη (Hḗbē, “the goddess Hebe”)) + φρήν (phrḗn, “mind”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.