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hysterical

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hysterical

  • /hɪˈstɛɹɪkəl/

Rhymes with -ɛɹɪkəl

Where it comes from

From hysteric + -al, from Latin hystericus, from Ancient Greek ὑστερικός (husterikós, “suffering in the womb, hysterical”), from ῠ̔στέρᾱ (hŭstérā, “womb”).

adjective more hysterical · most hysterical

  1. Of, or arising from hysteria. Henrietta gasped for breath; but she swallowed down the hysterical emotion, and signed with her hand for Walter to go on.
  2. Having, or prone to having hysterics.
  3. Provoking uncontrollable laughter. She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid,[…]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: psychoneurotic, neurotic, agitated, nuts, wild, demented, crazy, mad, insane, pissed, angry, upset, excited, comical, funny, hilarious

Translations

Every language

adj arising from hysteria

中文歇斯底里的 xiēsīdǐlǐ de
Portuguêshistérico
Françaishystérique
Deutschhysterisch
Italianoisterico
Ελληνικάυστερικός ysterikós
Русскийистери́ческий isteríčeskij

adj prone to having hysterics

中文易發歇斯底里的 yì fā xiēsīdǐlǐ de
Portuguêshistérico
Françaishystérique, surexcité
Deutschhysterisch
Ελληνικάυστερικός ysterikós
Русскийистеричный isteričnyj

adj provoking laughter

中文令人捧腹的 lìngrén pěngfù de
Françaishystérique, tordant
Italianoesilarante, da morire dal ridere
Русскийуморительный umoritelʹnyj

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MLA

"hysterical." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hysterical. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

hysterical. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hysterical

Chicago

"hysterical." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hysterical.

BibTeX
@misc{hysterical_2026,
  title = {hysterical},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hysterical},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}