Paranoia is an unfounded belief that others mean you harm. Sheer paranoia, a touch of paranoia, feed his paranoia.
In medicine it is a symptom rather than a diagnosis, and it can appear in several conditions and in reaction to some drugs. In ordinary speech it means excessive suspicion. The Greek means out of mind, from para, beside, plus nous, the mind.
1nounparanoiaAn unfounded belief that others mean you harm.
“His paranoia grew until he believed his neighbours were reading his post.”
paranoia is a state of mind.
Greek paranoia means madness, from para, beside, plus nous, the mind.
Proto-Indo-European
*(s)neh₁-
Ancient Greek
παράνοια — madness
English, today
paranoia
Built from
Ancient Greek παράνοια (“madness”), from παράνοος (“demented”), from παρά (“beyond, beside”) + νόος (“mind, spirit”). by surface analysis, para- + nous + -ia.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA