neurotic
adjectivenounattested in dialogue
- //n(j)ʊəˈɹɒtɪk//
- //n(j)əˈɹɒtɪk//
Affected with a neurosis.
adjective
- 1
Affected with a neurosis.
If there were such a thing as inspiration from a higher realm, it might well be that the neurotic temperament would furnish the chief condition of the requisite receptivity.
- 2
informalOverly anxious.
He is getting neurotic about time-keeping.
“I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera, the gorged dowagers, the worn-out, passionless men,[…], the speed-mad fugitives from the furies of ennui, the neurotic victims of mental cirrhosis,[…]!”
“You did come down a wallop, didn't you? How art thou fallen from heaven, oh Lucifer, son of the morning, I said to myself. You're so terribly neurotic, Bertie. You must try to be less jumpy. What you need is a good nerve tonic.”
Elisheva Lambert called herself a “totally neurotic Jew from Toronto who is doing everything my parents didn’t want me to.[…]”
- 3
Useful in disorders of, or affecting, the nerves.
Etymology
Formed of neuro- (“of nerves or the nervous system”) + -otic (“having abnormal condition”). The initial element, in turn, is from Ancient Greek νεῦρον (neûron, “nerve”). Attested from the 17th century. Compare French névrotique.
noun
- 1
A person who has a neurosis.
- 2
informalA crazy person.
DYSART: ...Advanced neurotics can be dazzling at that game. They aim unswervingly at your area of maximum vulnerability...
Drag this neurotic to hysterics, leave him balked and unfulfilled; holding inside, outwardly patient 'til the time he'll call it.
Forms
- plural
- neurotics