neurotic
See also: neuròtic
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Formed of neuro- (“of nerves or the nervous system”) + -otic (“having abnormal condition”). The initial element, in turn, is from Ancient Greek νεῦρον (neûron, “nerve”). Attested from the 17th century. Compare French névrotique.
Pronunciation
[edit]- IPA(key): /n(j)ʊəˈɹɒtɪk/, /n(j)əˈɹɒtɪk/
Audio (Southern England): (file)
- Rhymes: -ɒtɪk
Adjective
[edit]neurotic (not comparable)
- Affected with a neurosis.
- 1902, William James, “Lecture I”, in The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature […] , New York, N.Y.; London: Longmans, Green, and Co. […], →OCLC:
- If there were such a thing as inspiration from a higher realm, it might well be that the neurotic temperament would furnish the chief condition of the requisite receptivity.
- (informal) Overly anxious.
- He is getting neurotic about time-keeping.
- 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter VI, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
- “I don't mean all of your friends—only a small proportion—which, however, connects your circle with that deadly, idle, brainless bunch—the insolent chatterers at the opera, the gorged dowagers, the worn-out, passionless men, […], the speed-mad fugitives from the furies of ennui, the neurotic victims of mental cirrhosis, […]!”
- 1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, chapter VIII, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
- “You did come down a wallop, didn't you? How art thou fallen from heaven, oh Lucifer, son of the morning, I said to myself. You're so terribly neurotic, Bertie. You must try to be less jumpy. What you need is a good nerve tonic.”
- 2002 January 17, Alina Tugend, “Reaching Out, With Cheek, to Young Jewish Readers”, in Los Angeles Times[1], Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 January 2023:
- Elisheva Lambert called herself a “totally neurotic Jew from Toronto who is doing everything my parents didn’t want me to. […]”
- (medicine) Useful in disorders of, or affecting, the nerves.
Derived terms
[edit]Translations
[edit]overanxious
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Noun
[edit]neurotic (plural neurotics)
- (medicine) A person who has a neurosis.
- (informal) A crazy person.
- 1973, Peter Shaffer, “Act I, Scene 17”, in Equus, pages 56-7:
- DYSART: ...Advanced neurotics can be dazzling at that game. They aim unswervingly at your area of maximum vulnerability...
Synonyms
[edit]- jitterbug, nervous wreck, obsessive, worrywart; see also Thesaurus:worrier
Translations
[edit]person who has a neurosis
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
References
[edit]- “neurotic, adj.”, in OED Online
, Oxford: Oxford University Press, September 2003.
Anagrams
[edit]Categories:
- English terms prefixed with neuro-
- English terms suffixed with -otic
- English terms borrowed from Ancient Greek
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɒtɪk
- Rhymes:English/ɒtɪk/3 syllables
- English lemmas
- English adjectives
- English uncomparable adjectives
- English terms with quotations
- English informal terms
- English terms with usage examples
- en:Medicine
- English nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:People
- en:Personality