Definition of PARANOIA

paranoia

Plural: paranoias, paranoiæ

Noun

  • A mental condition characterized by delusions of persecution or grandeur.
  • a psychological disorder characterized by delusions of persecution or grandeur
  • The obsolete name for a psychotic disorder, now called delusional disorder, often (in one of six subtypes) characterized by delusions of persecution and a perceived threat against the individual affected with the disorder, and often associated with false accusations and a general mistrust of others
  • Extreme, irrational distrust of others.

Examples

  • His paranoia grew as his opponent kept finding high-scoring words in Words With Friends.

Origin / Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek παράνοια (paránoia, “madness”), from παράνοος (paránoos, “demented”), from παρά (pará, “beyond, beside”) + νόος (nóos, “mind, spirit”).
By surface analysis, para- (“abnormal, beyond”) + nous (“mind”) + -ia (“(medical) condition”).

Antonyms

pronoia

Scrabble Score: 10

paranoia: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
paranoia: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
paranoia: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 12

paranoia: valid Words With Friends Word