Spanish word

paranoia

Pronunciation

IPA/paɾaˈnoja/

Meaning

  • feminine nounparanoia

Example

Él tiene paranoia y piensa que todos hablan de él.

He has paranoia and thinks everyone is talking about him.

Illustration for paranoia (paranoia)

More examples

Sufre de paranoia y evita hablar con extraños.

She suffers from paranoia and avoids talking to strangers.

Core concept

Unfounded fear that others intend to harm or conspire against one.

Common phrases

  • tener paranoia

    have paranoia

  • sufrir de paranoia

    suffer from paranoia

  • episodios de paranoia

    paranoid episodes

Similar words

desconfianza: Persistent reluctance to trust people or things; low confidence in others' reliability.
recelo: Guarded wariness that prompts emotional distance and keeps others at arm's length.
sospecha: Suspicion triggered by signs or odd details that suggest something is wrong.

Definition in Spanish

Estado mental en el que se cree, sin pruebas suficientes, que otras personas desean hacer daño o conspirar contra uno.

Word origin

Derived from Greek παράνοια (para 'abnormal' + noia 'mind'), the word passed through medical Latin into Spanish and then broadened from psychiatric usage to everyday speech.

Usage tips

  • In casual conversation, verbs like desconfiar or sospechar are more natural for ordinary distrust, while paranoia suggests extreme or clinical suspicion.

Opposites

Related words

  • paranoicoparanoidadjective
  • paranoideparanoidadjective
  • paranoicamenteparanoicallyadverb

Word lists with this word