as in paranoid
having or showing a very nervous or disordered state of mind
Her neurotic tendencies tend to manifest in her obsessive need for cleanliness. Our dog is a bit neurotic; she tends to panic around strangers.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of neurotic
Other challenging dog breeds in the list include Belgian Malinois, which need extensive physical and mental exercise, and without the firm training are prone to neurotic and destructive behavior; Catahoula leopard dogs, also prone to destructive behavior; Chow Chows, and border collies.
—
Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Aug. 2025
Sadly, Harold Gould, who played the earthquake-fearing grandpa in the original, died in 2010, and Willie Garson, who played Tess’ neurotic patient Evan, died in 2021.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
The neurotic Jew is a real thing, and these works explore it with nuance and depth.
—Rachel Israel, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
But one recent study found that a highly neurotic robot provoked some interesting responses.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for neurotic
Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Aug. 2025
Sadly, Harold Gould, who played the earthquake-fearing grandpa in the original, died in 2010, and Willie Garson, who played Tess’ neurotic patient Evan, died in 2021.
—Angie Martoccio, Rolling Stone, 7 Aug. 2025
The neurotic Jew is a real thing, and these works explore it with nuance and depth.
—Rachel Israel, HollywoodReporter, 6 Aug. 2025
But one recent study found that a highly neurotic robot provoked some interesting responses.
—Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for neurotic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for neurotic
paranoid
Adjective
-
Occasionally held back by a very mid-'00s aesthetic and stylistic choices that come across second-rate David Lynch, No Smoking is nonetheless an effectively paranoid adaptation of King for another culture.—
James Grebey,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
-
The threat is enough to make Cherry paranoid.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Neurotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/neurotic. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share