hysterical
adjective
hys·ter·i·cal
hi-ˈster-i-kəl 
1
or less commonly hysteric
: of, relating to, or marked by hysteria
hysterical conditions
2
: feeling or showing extreme and unrestrained emotion
hysterical fans
… the paper did not hesitate to appeal to racial passions in hysterical headlines and rabid editorials.—
The New Yorker
The New Yorker3
informal
: very funny
a hysterical movie/joke
Synonyms
Examples of hysterical in a Sentence
some of the things little kids come out with are hysterical
the police officer assured the mother that there was no need to get hysterical, for most missing children are found safe and sound
upon hearing the announcement that a shark had been sighted, hysterical beachgoers raced out of the water
Recent Examples on the Web
One reporter said the fight should be called off, that Clay was hysterical and was endangering himself.
—Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone, 17 Jan. 2025
His hysterical and paranoid tenor made this easy to dismiss as excuse-making for his difficulties governing in his first term and his myriad legal problems.
—Jeannie Suk Gersen, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2025
A little after midnight on New Year’s Day, Francine Sohn was jolted awake by a phone call from a neighbor, who sounded hysterical.
—Jon Schuppe, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2025
The hysterical footage garnered 14,600 likes and 329,000 views.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hysterical 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Mikal Gilmore, Rolling Stone, 17 Jan. 2025
His hysterical and paranoid tenor made this easy to dismiss as excuse-making for his difficulties governing in his first term and his myriad legal problems.
—Jeannie Suk Gersen, The New Yorker, 16 Jan. 2025
A little after midnight on New Year’s Day, Francine Sohn was jolted awake by a phone call from a neighbor, who sounded hysterical.
—Jon Schuppe, NBC News, 11 Jan. 2025
The hysterical footage garnered 14,600 likes and 329,000 views.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hysterical
Dictionary Entries Near hysterical
Cite this Entry
“Hysterical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hysterical. Accessed 28 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hysterical
adjective
hys·ter·i·cal
his-ˈter-i-kəl
1
: of, relating to, or marked by hysteria
2
: feeling or showing unrestrained emotion
hysterical fans
3
informal
: very funny
Medical Definition
hysterical
adjective
hys·ter·i·cal
-ˈter-i-kəl
variants
also hysteric
: of, relating to, or marked by hysteria
during hysterical conditions various functions of the human body are disordered—Morris Fishbein
Morris FishbeinLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share