hysterical

adjective

hys·​ter·​i·​cal hi-ˈster-i-kəl 

1

or less commonly hysteric

hi-ˈster-ik 

: 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

3

informal : very funny

a hysterical movie/joke

hysterically

hi-ˈster-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Synonyms

• antic
• chucklesome
• comedic
• comic
• comical
• droll
• farcical
• funny
• hilarious
• humoristic
• humorous
• killing
• laughable
• ludicrous
• ridiculous
• riotous
• risible
• screaming
• sidesplitting
• uproarious

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

Hall's character has endured through outrageous circumstances as falling out of a window, hysterical amnesia, kidnapping, being targeted by serial killers, being replaced by an unhinged lookalike, surviving a plane crash and not one but two demonic possessions. —Scott Huver, Peoplemag, 24 May 2024

Cox mouths to a voiceover from the famed Season 9 episode when the pals head to Barbados on vacation and Monica suffers a hysterical case of bad-hair day. —Madeleine Marr, Miami Herald, 23 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids 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

hysterically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Medical Definition

hysterical

adjective

hys·​ter·​i·​cal -ˈter-i-kəl 

variants also hysteric

-ˈter-ik 

: of, relating to, or marked by hysteria

during hysterical conditions various functions of the human body are disordered

—Morris Fishbein

hysterically

-i-k(ə-)lē 

adverb