paranoia
nounattested in dialogue
- United Kingdom//ˌpæɹ.əˈnɔɪ.ə//
- United States//ˌpæɹ.əˈnɔɪ.ə//
- United States//ˌpɛɹ.əˈnɔɪ.ə//
Extreme, irrational distrust of others.
noun
- 1
obsoleteA psychotic disorder, now called delusional disorder, often (in one of six subtypes) characterized by delusions of persecution and a perceived threat against the individual affected with the disorder, and often associated with false accusations and a general mistrust of others.
- 2
Extreme, irrational distrust of others.
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek παράνοια (paránoia, “madness”), from παράνοος (paránoos, “demented”), from παρά (pará, “beyond, beside”) + νόος (nóos, “mind, spirit”). By surface analysis, para- (“abnormal, beyond”) + nous (“mind”) + -ia (“(medical) condition”).
Forms
- plural
- paranoias, paranoiæ
paramedic · A person trained to medically stabilize people through…paramount · Highest, supreme; also, chief, leading, pre-eminent.Paramount · A city in Los Angeles County, California, United States.
paranoia · Extreme, irrational distrust of others.
paranoid · Of, related to, or suffering from clinical paranoia.paranormal · Of events, experiences, or phenomenona, that cannot be…parasite · An organism that lives on or in another organism of a…