: an acute (see acutesense 1a(2)) mental disturbance characterized by confused thinking and disrupted attention usually accompanied by disordered speech and hallucinations
In her delirium, nothing she said made any sense. shoppers running around in a delirium the day before Christmas
Recent Examples on the WebAnd while Leitch clearly knows a million different recipes for mayhem, the delirium itself never gets up to its proper speed. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 2 Aug. 2022 Verdugo laced it to right field, scoring Rob Refsnyder and Jeter Downs to deliver a 6-5 victory and send Fenway Park into delirium. Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 9 July 2022 But Kosinski nicely handles the story’s slow shift into horror, as Abnesti’s enthusiasm tilts into frightening delirium, and the tonics inflict surprising and unexpected pain on the recipients. David Sims, The Atlantic, 20 June 2022 These events commonly involved patients who experienced excessive bleeding or delirium and other changes in mental status, often resulting from taking a combination of opioids. Ruth Ann Dorrill, STAT, 18 June 2022 Other common side effects of aducanumab can be headache, falling, diarrhea, and confusion, delirium or disorientation. Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 9 June 2021 The disease killed quickly, causing painfully swollen lymph nodes (called buboes), fevers, vomiting, delirium and other unpleasant symptoms. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 June 2022 Blake Lemoine’s own delirium shows just how potent this drug has become. Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, 14 June 2022 After Poole punctuated the third quarter with his deep 3-pointer, a shot that had the home crowd at Chase Center in a state of near-delirium, his teammates seemed to ride that crest of emotion. Scott Cacciola, New York Times, 13 June 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Latin, from delirare to be crazy, literally, to leave the furrow (in plowing), from de- + lira furrow — more at learn