Lexic.us

Definition of Paranoia

1. Noun. A psychological disorder characterized by delusions of persecution or grandeur.

Definition of Paranoia

1. n. Mental derangement; insanity.

2. n. A chronic form of insanity characterized by very gradual impairment of the intellect, systematized delusion, and usually by delusious of persecution or mandatory delusions producing homicidal tendency. In its mild form paranoia may consist in the well-marked crotchetiness exhibited in persons commonly called "cranks." Paranoiacs usually show evidences of bodily and nervous degeneration, and many have hallucinations, esp. of sight and hearing.

Definition of Paranoia

1. Noun. A psychotic disorder characterized by delusions of persecution. ¹

2. Noun. Extreme, irrational distrust of others. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Paranoia

1. a mental disorder [n -S]

Medical Definition of Paranoia

1. A psychotic disorder marked by persistent delusions of persecution or delusional jealousy and behaviour like that of the paranoid personality, such as suspiciousness, mistrust and combativeness. It differs from paranoid schizophrenia, in which hallucinations or formal thought disorder are present, in that the delusions are logically consistent and that there are no other psychotic features. The designation in DSM III R is delusional (paranoid) disorders, with five types: persecutory, jealous, erotomanic, somatic and grandiose. Origin: Gr. Madness, delirium, from noein = to think This entry appears with permission from the Dictionary of Cell and Molecular Biology (11 Mar 2008)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Paranoia

Literary usage of Paranoia

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Nervous and Mental Diseases by Archibald Church, Frederick Peterson (1919)
"paranoia may be defined as a progressive psychosis founded on a ... Varieties of paranoia.—There is one typical form of paranoia to which the main portion ..."

2. The American Journal of Psychology by Granville Stanley Hall, Edward Bradford Titchener (1888)
"Those interested in the discussion oí paranoia—a term to which Dr. ... Insanity in the autumn of 1887—are referred to the article paranoia in the Journal of ..."

3. The American Journal of Insanity by New York (State). State Lunatic Asylum (1905)
"also an " acute paranoia," characterized by systematized and constant delusions underlying ... 113) uses for both Verwirrtheit and acute paranoia the name ..."

4. Outlines of Psychiatry by William Alanson White (1915)
"paranoia AND PARANOID STATES. paranoia. General Considerations. — When the term "paranoia" first came into general use the number of cases included under it ..."

5. Psychopathia Sexualis, with Especial Reference to the Antipathic Sexual by Richard Krafft-Ebing (1922)
"paranoia. Abnormal manifestations in the sexual sphere, in the various forms of paranoia, ... In paranoia religiosa and erotica the abnormally intense and, ..."

6. The Psychology of Childhood by Frederick Tracy, Joseph Stimpfl (1909)
"The presence of paranoia is indicated by hallucinations and delusions. These have been referred to already as elementary psychic disorders. ..."

7. Diseases of the nervous system by Smith Ely Jelliffe, William Alanson White (1917)
"Following these great groups there were secondary group which stood upon a purely symptomatic basis, and so he describe« persecutory paranoia, ..."

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