hysterical

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /hɪˈstɛɹɪkəl/
  • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛɹɪkəl

Adjective

hysterical (comparative more hysterical, superlative most hysterical)

  1. Of, or arising from hysteria.
  2. Having, or prone to having hysterics.
  3. Provoking uncontrollable laughter.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter II, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      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 as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.
    • 2016 February 6, James Zogby, “Israel’s prickliness blocks the long quest for peace”, in The National‎:
      There is a certain irony in all of this because in their hysterical use of charge of “double standard” – that Israel is being “singled out for criticism”– it is Israel’s supporters who are themselves guilty of a “double standard”, since, if they were to have their way, it is Israel that would be singled out as the only country that cannot be criticised.

Usage notes
  • For usage caution, see hysteria § Usage notes.
  • Like many terms that start with a non-silent h but have emphasis on their second syllable, some people precede hysterical with an, others with a.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.