delirium
pronunciation
How to pronounce delirium in British English:
UK [dɪˈlɪriəm]
How to pronounce delirium in American English:
US [dɪˈlɪriəm]
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- Noun:
- state of violent mental agitation
- a usually brief state of excitement and mental confusion often accompanied by hallucinations
Word Origin
- delirium (n.)
- 1590s, from Latin delirium "madness," from deliriare "be crazy, rave," literally "go off the furrow," a plowing metaphor, from phrase de lire, from de "off, away" (see de-) + lira "furrow, earth thrown up between two furrows," from PIE *leis- (1) "track, furrow" (see learn).
Example
- 1. Extended solitary confinement is likely to induce either obsessive behavior or delirium .
- 2. For the next nine months , job was in constant delirium .
- 3. These injuries resulted in chest pains , a high fever , and delirium .
- 4. And bad design can cause " anxiety , delirium , high blood pressure and increased use of painkillers . "
- 5. The drugs create a condition police have come to call an " excited delirium " that makes users paranoid , violent and unpredictable .