hyperactivity

nounB2Very rare — outside the 30,000 commonest English words, so you will meet it in writing rather than in speech — active sits at #2,242leans writtentechnical · an editor’s judgement

Hyperactivity is being unable to sit still. Constant movement, constant talk, a child who has been awake since five and shows no sign of slowing.

The word is mainly clinical: hyperactivity is one of the core features of ADHD, alongside inattention and impulsiveness, and doctors measure it rather than judge it. Outside the clinic people use it loosely for any burst of restless energy, and markets get it too — a spell of hyperactivity on the trading floor. The adjective hyperactive is far commoner in speech, and is often clipped to hyper, as in the children are hyper this evening.

Definitions of hyperactivity

1nounhyperactivityA condition of constant restless movement and difficulty staying still.B2
“The report noted hyperactivity in the classroom.”

Where it comes from

Latin
āctīvitās
Middle French
activité
English
activity
English, today
hyperactivity

From hyper- + activity. activity Borrowed from Middle French activité, from Latin āctīvitās. From Middle French activité, from Latin activitas. Equivalent to active + ity.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 13 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

hyperactivity in the wild

At therapeutic doses, methylphenidate increases alertness and concentration and reduces hyperactivity and impulsive behavior in people with ADHD.
Methylphenidate
Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adult ADHD) is ADHD that persists into adulthood.
Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Guanfacine is approved in the US for monotherapy treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as well as being used for augmentation of stimulant medications.
Guanfacine
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, predominantly inattentive presentation (ADHD-PI or ADHD-I), is one of the three recognized presentations of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder predominantly inattentive
Unlike the hyperactive-impulsive and combined presentations, individuals with ADHD-PI exhibit fewer or no symptoms of hyperactivity and impulsivity.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder predominantly inattentive

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the activité family

activity

hyperactivity — used too rare to measure · point at the bar for the others

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