hysterical

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English

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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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[1]:
      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

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  • 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

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Translations

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Further reading

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