paranoid

adjective

para·​noid ˈper-ə-ˌnȯid 

ˌpa-rə-

variants or less commonly paranoidal

ˌper-ə-ˈnȯi-dᵊl 

ˌpa-rə-

1

: characterized by or resembling paranoia or paranoid schizophrenia

a paranoid psychiatric patient

2

: characterized by suspiciousness, persecutory trends, or megalomania

behaving in a paranoid manner with accusations of persecutions

3

: extremely fearful

was so paranoid that he was afraid to walk the streets

paranoid noun

Examples of paranoid in a Sentence

I guess I was just being paranoid.

She's a little paranoid about her job.

It's nothing more than a paranoid fantasy.

Recent Examples on the Web

Corcoran is under the paranoid delusion that prison guards are torturing him with sound waves. —Kristine Phillips, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Dec. 2024

Kevin McCormick and Chrystal Li will oversee Panic Carefully for Warner Bros. The movie is described as a paranoid thriller reminiscent of Silence of the Lambs and Esmail’s Emmy-winning series Mr. Robot. —Ryan Gajewski, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Dec. 2024

Described as a paranoid thriller in the vein of Esmail’s Emmy and Golden Globe winner Mr. Robot, as well as The Silence of the Lambs, the film’s logline is being kept under wraps. —Matt Grobar, Deadline, 5 Dec. 2024

And even if the tonic issue started out as a theory and sounded a bit paranoid, guess what? —Paul Tassi, Forbes, 3 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1901, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing paranoid

• paranoid schizophrenia

Kids Definition

paranoid

1 of 2 adjective

para·​noid

ˈpar-ə-ˌnȯid

1

: resembling paranoia

2

: marked especially by suspiciousness, distrust, and feelings of persecution

3

: extremely fearful

grew paranoid about losing her job

paranoid

2 of 2 noun

: one who is paranoid

Medical Definition

paranoid

1 of 2 adjective

para·​noid ˈpar-ə-ˌnȯid 

variants also paranoidal

ˌpar-ə-ˈnȯid-ᵊl 

1

: characterized by or resembling paranoia or paranoid schizophrenia

2

: characterized by suspiciousness, persecutory trends, or megalomania

paranoid

2 of 2 noun

: one affected with paranoia or paranoid schizophrenia

called also paranoiac