Hysteric

//hɪsˈtɛɹɪk// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A hysterical person.

    "“Which girl was it now?” he asks a second time. ¶ “Oh, you know, the hysteric,” Eleanor says, “the one who was parading her bazooms in your face.”"

  2. 2
    a person suffering from hysteria wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Hysterical; relating to hysteria.

    "Yes, my dravving-room is an abſolute regiſter-office for candidate actors, and poets vvithout character;—then to be continually alarmed vvith Miſſes and Ma'ams piping hiſteric changes on Juliets and Dorindas, Pollys and Ophelias; […]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    characterized by or arising from psychoneurotic hysteria wordnet

Example

More examples

"Yes, my dravving-room is an abſolute regiſter-office for candidate actors, and poets vvithout character;—then to be continually alarmed vvith Miſſes and Ma'ams piping hiſteric changes on Juliets and Dorindas, Pollys and Ophelias; […]"

Etymology

From Latin hystericus, from Ancient Greek ὑστερικός (husterikós, “suffering in the uterus, hysterical”), from ὑστέρα (hustéra, “womb”).

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