neurosis

UK/n(j)ʊˈɹəʊ̯.sɪs/US/n(j)ʊˈɹoʊ̯.sɪs/

nounC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #9,868 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: neuroses

A neurosis is a lasting anxiety that is out of proportion. A mild neurosis, his neuroses, a collective neurosis.

The term has been dropped from formal diagnosis, since it grouped too many different things under one word, but it survives everywhere else. The plural is neuroses, and it is used loosely for any settled worry.

Definitions of neurosis

1nounneurosisA lasting anxiety that is out of proportion.C1
“Her neurosis about germs meant she washed her hands dozens of times a day.”

neurosis is a condition.

Where it comes from

From neuro- + -sis.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

neurosis in the wild

Also known as "combat fatigue", "battle fatigue", "operational exhaustion", or "battle/war neurosis", it has some overlap with the diagnosis of acute stress reaction used in civilian psychiatry.
Combat stress reaction
Jung's theory of neurosis is based on the premise of a self-regulating psyche composed of tensions between opposing attitudes of the ego and the unconscious.
Jung's theory of neurosis
Resolution of the tension causing this type of neurosis involves a careful constructive study of the fantasies.
Jung's theory of neurosis

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.

← Vocabulary