paranoia
noun/ˌpærəˈnɔɪə/
/ˌpærəˈnɔɪə/
[uncountable]- the belief that other people dislike or want to harm you, when there is no evidence or reason for this
- External threats will just fuel paranoia among those in power.
- I was full of paranoia that people were talking about me.
Extra ExamplesTopics Feelingsc2- Give your partner a chance to explain themselves and try not to give way to paranoia.
- The press just play on people's paranoia and insecurities.
- The regime is in the grip of severe paranoia.
- the anti-communist paranoia of the 1950s
- his paranoia that people might find out
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- rampant
- extreme
- severe
- …
- suffer from
- border on
- verge on
- …
- kick in
- set in
- grip somebody
- …
- (psychology) false beliefs that are part of a mental illness, especially the belief that people are trying or planning to harm you
- The drugs can induce paranoia.
Extra ExamplesTopics Mental healthc2- He was gripped by paranoia.
- Her passion for cleanliness borders on paranoia.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- rampant
- extreme
- severe
- …
- suffer from
- border on
- verge on
- …
- kick in
- set in
- grip somebody
- …
Word Originearly 19th cent.: modern Latin, from Greek, from paranoos ‘distracted’, from para ‘irregular’ + noos ‘mind’.
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paranoia