any of various mental disorders in which there is a symptom or group of symptomsthat causes psychological pain or discomfort and may be very disabling: common neuroses include anxiety, compulsions, phobias, and depression
2. Popularly
any emotional disturbance other than a psychosis
Word origin
ModL: see neuro- & -osis
Word lists with
neurosis
Psychology terms
In other languages
neurosis
British English: neurosis NOUN
Neurosis is a mental condition which causes people to have unreasonable fears and worries over a long period of time.
He was anxious to the point of neurosis.
American English: neurosis
Brazilian Portuguese: neurose
Chinese: 神经病疾病
European Spanish: neurosis
French: névrose
German: Neurose
Italian: nevrosi
Japanese: 神経症
Korean: 신경증
European Portuguese: neurose
Latin American Spanish: neurosis
(noun)
Definition
anxious or obsessive behaviour
(informal)
Her mother was over-protective to the point of neurosis.
Synonyms
obsession
phobia
She has a phobia of spiders.
anxiety
Additional synonyms
in the sense of phobia
Definition
an intense and irrational fear of a given situation or thing