paranoia

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a psychological disorder characterized by delusions of persecution or grandeur

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”).

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