hysteria Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun state of violent mental agitation
fury; delirium; frenzy; craze.
noun excessive or uncontrollable fear
noun neurotic disorder characterized by violent emotional outbreaks and disturbances of sensory and motor functions
hysterical neurosis.

NL.: cf. F. hystérie. See Hysteric.

(Med.) A nervous affection, occurring almost exclusively in women, in which the emotional and reflex excitability is exaggerated, and the will power correspondingly diminished, so that the patient loses control over the emotions, becomes the victim of imaginary sensations, and often falls into paroxism or fits. ✍ The chief symptoms are convulsive, tossing movements of the limbs and head, uncontrollable crying and laughing, and a choking sensation as if a ball were lodged in the throat. The affection presents the most varied symptoms, often simulating those of the gravest diseases, but generally curable by mental treatment alone.