paranoid
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
of, characterized by, or resembling paranoia
-
informal exhibiting undue suspicion, fear of persecution, etc
noun
Usage
What does paranoid mean? Paranoid is an adjective used to describe someone who has the mental disorder paranoia, which is characterized by delusions and feelings of extreme distrust, suspicion, and being targeted by others. Such thoughts and actions can also be described as paranoid. Paranoid is also commonly used more generally to mean overly suspicious or irrationally distrustful of others. It’s important to understand that while paranoid is used generally outside of its psychiatric usage in a way that makes it seem less serious, being paranoid is a major symptom of disorders like paranoid schizophrenia and paranoid personality disorder. Example: Just because I lock my doors at night doesn’t mean I’m being paranoid—it just means I’m being cautious.
Etymology
Origin of paranoid
First recorded in 1900–05; paranoi(a) + -oid, with base and suffix merged, perhaps by shortening of the expected but unrecorded paranoioid
Explanation
Someone who is paranoid has an irrational and obsessive distrust of others, like your paranoid friend who worries that everyone from the principal to the neighborhood pre-schoolers are out to get him. A paranoid person suffers from paranoia, the unreasonable fear or irrational belief that other people are plotting to harm him or her. How can you spot paranoid people? They tend to obsess over other people talking about them. They believe there are no accidents or coincidences — the cafeteria running out of fries just as they reach the front of the line — just plans to hurt, embarrass, or otherwise bring them down.
Vocabulary lists containing paranoid
Holes
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All American Boys
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He led Intel to unimaginable heights, wrote management texts and coined the mantra “only the paranoid survive.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
Once they arrived, Scott told the officers that he had paranoid schizophrenia and was having active hallucinations.
From Slate • Apr. 21, 2026
He also poked at Jones, a star of the paranoid, far-right fringe, for losing a massive defamation lawsuit filed by the parents of children killed in a 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
From Salon • Apr. 9, 2026
She had paranoid schizophrenia among other mental health conditions.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
The doctor concluded that she was paranoid, but noted, as Hoover put it, that she “perceives items which would escape the observation of the average individual.”
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
