hysterical
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
unable to control your feelings or behavior because you are extremely frightened, angry, or excited.
characterised by a state of extreme, uncontrolled emotion, often involving crying or laughter due to panic or shock.
Simple“The crowd became hysterical when the fire alarm started ringing in the dark theatre.”
In context“By the time the rescue team arrived, the survivors were hysterical with relief, making it difficult for the medics to assess their injuries.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
extremely funny, making you laugh a lot.
provoking uncontrollable laughter; used as a superlative for humorous content.
Simple“You have to see this video of the cat; it is absolutely hysterical.”
In context“The comedian's observations about office life were so hysterical that several audience members were reduced to tears of laughter.”
“And because he is so reasonable, it makes Richard seem hysterical.”
From hysteric + -al, from Latin hystericus, from Ancient Greek ὑστερικός (husterikós, “suffering in the womb, hysterical”), from ῠ̔στέρᾱ (hŭstérā, “womb”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.