Mental or Behavioral Dysfunction
hysteria Audio
hys·te·ri·a [ hi-ster-ee-uh, -steer- ]
Subclass of:
Histrionic Personality Disorder
Etymology:
Greek hystera = the womb
The word hysteric appeared in English as long ago as the middle of the seventeenth century. Hysteric disturbances were originally thought to occur only in women, ascribed to the influence of the womb.
Definitions related to hysteria:
  • A psychological state of emotional lability characterized by irrational behavior. This is a colloquial term that is not commonly used in clinical medicine.
    NCI
    U.S. National Cancer Institute, 2021
  • Behavior exhibiting excessive or uncontrollable emotion, such as fear or panic; mental disorder characterized by emotional excitability and sometimes by amnesia or a physical deficit, such as paralysis, or a sensory deficit, without an organic cause.
    CRISP Thesaurus
    National Institutes of Health, 2006
  • Historical term for a chronic, but fluctuating, disorder beginning in early life and characterized by recurrent and multiple somatic complaints not apparently due to physical illness. This diagnosis is not used in contemporary practice.
    NLM Medical Subject Headings
    U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2025
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This content should not be used in place of medically-reviewed decision support reference material or professional medical advice. Some terms may have alternate or updated definitions not reflected in this set. The definitions on this page should not be considered complete or up to date.