paranoia

noun

para·​noia ˌper-ə-ˈnȯi-ə 

ˌpa-rə-

1

: mental illness characterized by systematized delusions of persecution or grandeur usually without hallucinations

Psychotic symptoms and paranoia persisted, and she continued to "find clues" of conspiracy against her.

—Helen K. Delichatsios et al.

2

: a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others

The members of America's racist right inhabit a murky world of conspiracy, suspicion, and paranoia.

—Wayne King

paranoiac

ˌper-ə-ˈnȯi-ˌak 

-ˈnȯi-ik

ˌpa-rə-

adjective or noun

or less commonly paranoic

ˌper-ə-ˈnȯi(-i)k 

-ˈnō-ik,

ˌpa-rə-

paranoically

ˌper-ə-ˈnȯi(-i)-k(ə-)lē 

-ˈnō-i-k(ə-)lē

ˌpa-rə-

adverb

Examples of paranoia in a Sentence

She was diagnosed with delusional paranoia.

I had to admit that my fears were just paranoia.

Recent Examples on the Web

Developing robust risk management strategies is not about paranoia but preparedness. —Jim Stevenson, Forbes.com, 14 Apr. 2025

Even this bizarre relationship echoes the era’s confusion and paranoia, with its unchecked consumerism and its sense that corporate society now had a mind of its own, as well as the uneasy role celebrity plays in the whole thing. —Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 10 Apr. 2025

Compulsion Games' previous title, We Happy Few, blended many influences to riff on 1960s British paranoia. —PC Magazine, 3 Apr. 2025

The term had the slightly kitschy flavor of other Cold War embarrassments—C.I.A. spy cats and Reds-under-the-bed paranoia. —Nikhil Krishnan, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Greek, madness, from paranous demented, from para- + nous mind

First Known Use

1887, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for paranoia

• soya

Kids Definition

paranoia

noun

para·​noia ˌpar-ə-ˈnȯi-ə 

1

: a serious mental illness marked especially by feelings of persecution or an exaggerated sense of one's own importance usually without hallucinations

2

: a tendency toward being overly suspicious and distrustful

Medical Definition

paranoia

noun

para·​noia ˌpar-ə-ˈnȯi-ə 

1

: a psychosis characterized by systematized delusions of persecution or grandeur usually without hallucinations

2

: a tendency on the part of an individual or group toward excessive or irrational suspiciousness and distrustfulness of others