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# hysterical

adjective (hysterical, more hysterical); adverb «hysterically»; noun «hysterics» (plural)

«hysterical» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. So upset, frightened or excited that you cannot control your feelings, for example screaming or crying wildly. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hysterical/#m1)
2. (informal) Extremely funny: «the film was hysterical». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hysterical/#m2)
3. Laughing so much you cannot stop: hysterical laughter. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hysterical/#m3)

### In the lessons

In stories «hysterical» shows a character who has lost control — panicking, sobbing or shrieking — or, in a funny scene, people helpless with laughter. In everyday speech children often use it to mean «really funny». In safety lessons: in an emergency, try to stay calm and not get hysterical. Phrases: become hysterical, hysterical laughter, absolutely hysterical, in hysterics.

### Examples

- The joke was so hysterical that I fell off my chair. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hysterical/#x1)
- She became hysterical when she saw the spider. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hysterical/#x2)
- We were in hysterics watching the cat chase its tail. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hysterical/#x3)
- Stay calm in a fire drill; getting hysterical makes things worse. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hysterical/#x4)
- The crowd went hysterical when the band came on stage. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hysterical/#x5)
- The toddler was hysterical because he lost his teddy. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hysterical/#x6)
- Dad told a hysterical story about his first day at work. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hysterical/#x7)

### Note

Two opposite feelings: very upset OR very funny — the sentence tells you which. «Hysterical» about a person who is upset can sound dismissive or unkind, so be careful using it about someone. The old idea that women are «hysterical» by nature is a myth and the word's history is unfair to women. Noun: «in hysterics» (laughing or crying uncontrollably).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «hysterical» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hysterical/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«hysterical» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/hysterical.html) on Mova free.