neurosis

noun

neu·​ro·​sis nu̇-ˈrō-səs How to pronounce neurosis (audio)
nyu̇-
plural neuroses nu̇-ˈrō-ˌsēz How to pronounce neurosis (audio)
nyu̇-
: a mental and emotional disorder that affects only part of the personality, is accompanied by a less distorted perception of reality than in a psychosis, does not result in disturbance of the use of language, and is accompanied by various physical, physiological, and mental disturbances (such as visceral symptoms, anxieties, or phobias)

Examples of neurosis in a Sentence

LBJ by legend watched the evening news about Vietnam simultaneously on three TVs, a ticket to a neurosis and night sweats. Daniel Henninger, Wall Street Journal, 2 Dec. 2005
He's self-conscious about few things, period, and so utterly lacking in neurosis that it's unnerving, frankly. Ned Zeman, Vanity Fair, February 2001
None of this official intervention did much to calm the fretfulness about maidservants, for the anxiety about their being both unreliable yet indispensable marked the birth of an authentically bourgeois neurosis. Simon Schama, The Embarrassment of Riches, 1988
Recent Examples on the Web The packing dream, a desire to escape my humble origins; the sunburn neurosis, from my mother’s warnings. Lauren Oyler, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2024 Richard Lewis, a stand-up comic who achieved fame in the 1980s by turning his neuroses into comedy gold and later experienced a renaissance in recent years thanks to Curb Your Enthusiasm, died on Tuesday at the age of 76. Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2024 He was known for turning his personal neuroses – and struggles – into the focus of his act. Dan Heching, CNN, 28 Feb. 2024 The dark brings its own madness and neurosis to some characters. Meredith Blake, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2024 Since Curb debuted on HBO in 2000, fans have relished such excruciating scenes, where Larry’s unique combination of privilege and neuroses unleashes politically incorrect chaos. TIME, 2 Feb. 2024 There is a lot going on inside this game’s engine and narrative, to the point where it can seemingly get lost inside its neuroses. Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, 27 Dec. 2023 The moment was tailor-made for Jacobs-Jenkins, a student of nineteenth-century theatre with a preternatural sensitivity to contemporary neuroses about identity. Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024 Every family plays host to its own histories, neuroses, feuds, foibles, tragedies, traumas, triggers, pains, pet peeves, and dysfunctional patterns. Ilana Masad, The Atlantic, 23 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'neurosis.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin neurōsis "any of various conditions (as coma or paralysis) involving impairment of the sensory and motor systems without local disease or fever," from Greek neûron "sinew, tendon, nerve" + New Latin -ōsis -osis — more at nerve entry 1

Note: The Latin term neurosis was introduced in the sense given in the etymology ("sensus et motus laesi, sine pyrexia et sine morbo locali") by the Scottish physician William Cullen (1710-90) in Synopsis nosologiæ methodicæ (Edinburgh, 1769), p. 274. Cullen later used the word in English: "In this place I propose to comprehend, under the title of Neuroses, all those preternatural affections of sense or motion, which are without pyrexia as part of the primary disease; and all those which do not depend upon a topical affection of the organs, but upon a more general affection of the nervous system, and of those powers on which sense and motion more especially depend." (First Lines of the Practice of Physic, for the Use of the Students in the University of Edinburgh, vol. 3 [Edinburgh, 1783], p. 2).

First Known Use

circa 1784, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of neurosis was circa 1784

Dictionary Entries Near neurosis

Cite this Entry

“Neurosis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neurosis. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

neurosis

noun
neu·​ro·​sis n(y)u̇-ˈrō-səs How to pronounce neurosis (audio)
plural neuroses -ˈrō-ˌsēz How to pronounce neurosis (audio)
: any of various mental and emotional disorders that affect only part of a person's personality, are less serious than a psychosis, and involve unusual or extreme reactions (as abnormal fears, depression, or anxiety) to stress and conflict

Medical Definition

neurosis

noun
neu·​ro·​sis n(y)u̇-ˈrō-səs How to pronounce neurosis (audio)
plural neuroses -ˌsēz How to pronounce neurosis (audio)
: a mental and emotional disorder that affects only part of the personality, is accompanied by a less distorted perception of reality than in a psychosis, does not result in disturbance of the use of language, and is accompanied by various physical, physiological, and mental disturbances (as visceral symptoms, anxieties, or phobias)
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