If you say that someone suffers from paranoia, you think that they are too suspicious and afraid of other people.
The mood is one of paranoia and expectation of war.
...the mounting paranoia with which he viewed the world around him.
Synonyms: obsession, suspicion, delusion, persecution complex More Synonyms of paranoia
2. uncountable noun
In psychology, if someone suffers from paranoia, they wrongly believe that other people are trying to harm them, or believe themselves to be much more important than they really are.
paranoia in British English
(ˌpærəˈnɔɪə)
noun
1.
a form of schizophrenia characterized by a slowly progressive deterioration of the personality, involving delusions and often hallucinations
2.
a disorder characterized by any of several types of delusions, in which the personality otherwiseremains relatively intact
3. informal
intense fear or suspicion, esp when unfounded
Derived forms
paranoiac (ˌpærəˈnɔɪɪk) or paranoic (ˌpærəˈnəʊɪk)
adjective, noun
Word origin
C19: via New Latin from Greek: frenzy, from paranoos distraught, from para-1 + noos mind
paranoia in American English
(ˌpærəˈnɔɪə)
noun
Psychiatry
a mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions, as of grandeur or, esp., persecution, often, except in a schizophrenic state, with an otherwise relatively intact personality
Word origin
ModL < Gr, derangement < para-, beside (see para-1) + nous, the mind
Word lists with
paranoia
Psychology terms
In other languages
paranoia
British English: paranoia NOUN
If you say that someone suffers from paranoia, you think that they are too suspicious and afraid of other people.
The mood is one of paranoia and expectation of war.
American English: paranoia
Brazilian Portuguese: paranoia
Chinese: 多疑
European Spanish: paranoia
French: paranoïa
German: Paranoia
Italian: paranoia
Japanese: 偏執症
Korean: 피해망상증
European Portuguese: paranoia
Latin American Spanish: paranoia
(noun)
Definition
intense fear or suspicion, usually unfounded
The mood is one of paranoia and expectation of war.