noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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dĭlĭʹrēəm
Received-Pronunciation:/dɪˈlɪ.ɹi.əm/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/dɪˈlɪɹ.i.əm/
rhymes with -ɪəɹiəm
CMU ARPABET:D IH0 L IH1 R IY0 AH0 M
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A temporary mental state with a sudden onset, usually reversible, including symptoms of confusion, inability to concentrate, disorientation, anxiety, and sometimes hallucinations. Causes can include dehydration, drug intoxication, and severe infection.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: medicine, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Wild, frenzied excitement or ecstasy.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
a usually brief state of excitement and mental confusion often accompanied by hallucinations
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: craze, frenzy, fury, hysteria
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mania, manic disorder
Narrower terms: nympholepsy, mass hysteria, epidemic hysertia
History
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *de Proto-Indo-European *-h1 Proto-Indo-European *déh1 Proto-Italic *dē Latin dē Latin dē- Proto-Indo-European *leys- Proto-Indo-European *-eh2 Proto-Indo-European *lóyseh2 Proto-Italic *loizā Latin līra Proto-Indo-European *-h2 Proto-Indo-European *-éh2 Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *-eh2yéti Proto-Indo-European *-h2tiinflu. Proto-Italic *-ājō Proto-Italic *-āō Latin -ō Latin dēlīrō Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ium Latin dēlīriumbor. English delirium Borrowed from Latin dēlīrium (“derangement, madness”).
Across languages
Translations
76 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
jerm
— mental state of confusion
Arabic:
هَذَيَان
(haḏayān)
— mental state of confusion
Armenian:
զառանցանք
(zaṙancʻankʻ)
— mental state of confusion
Armenian:
ցնորք
(cʻnorkʻ)
— mental state of confusion
Asturian:
deliriu
— mental state of confusion
Azerbaijani:
sayıqlama
— mental state of confusion
Azerbaijani:
deliriya
— mental state of confusion
Basque:
eldarnio
— mental state of confusion
Basque:
zoraldi
— mental state of confusion
Basque:
zorabio
— mental state of confusion
Belarusian:
брэд
(bred)
— mental state of confusion
Bulgarian:
бълну́ване
(bǎlnúvane)
— mental state of confusion
Bulgarian:
дели́риум
(delírium)
— mental state of confusion
Catalan:
deliri
— mental state of confusion
Chinese Mandarin:
譫妄 /谵妄
(zhānwàng)
— mental state of confusion
Chinese Mandarin:
神志昏迷
(shénzhì hūnmí)
— mental state of confusion
Czech:
delirium
— mental state of confusion
Danish:
delirium
— mental state of confusion
Dutch:
delier
— mental state of confusion
Dutch:
delirium
— mental state of confusion
Esperanto:
deliro
— mental state of confusion
Finnish:
houretila
— mental state of confusion
Finnish:
sekavuus
— mental state of confusion
Finnish:
delirium
— mental state of confusion
French:
délire
— mental state of confusion
Galician:
delirio
— mental state of confusion
German:
Delirium
— mental state of confusion
German:
Fieberphantasie
— mental state of confusion
German:
Taumel
— mental state of confusion
Greek:
παραλήρημα
(paralírima)
— mental state of confusion
Greek:
ντελίριο
(ntelírio)
— mental state of confusion
Gujarati:
ચિત્તભ્રમણા
(cittabhramṇā)
— mental state of confusion
Hebrew:
דֶלִירְיוּם
(deliryum)
— mental state of confusion
Hungarian:
delírium
— mental state of confusion
Icelandic:
óráð
— mental state of confusion
Indonesian:
delirium
— mental state of confusion
Irish:
rámhaille
— mental state of confusion
Italian:
delirio
— mental state of confusion
Japanese:
せん妄
(senmō)
— mental state of confusion
Japanese:
譫妄
(senmō)
— mental state of confusion
Kazakh:
сандырақ
(sandyraq)
— mental state of confusion
Korean:
섬망
(seommang)
— mental state of confusion
Latin:
dēlīrium
— mental state of confusion
Latvian:
delīrijs
— mental state of confusion
Macedonian:
делириум
(delirium)
— mental state of confusion
Māori:
kutukutuahi
— mental state of confusion
Māori:
ngutungutuahi
— mental state of confusion
Māori:
kuawa
— mental state of confusion
Māori:
mate kuawa
— mental state of confusion
Norwegian Bokmål:
delirium
— mental state of confusion
Persian:
دلیریوم
(deliryum)
— mental state of confusion
Plautdietsch:
Feebadroom
— mental state of confusion
Polish:
majaczenie
— mental state of confusion
Polish:
delirium
— mental state of confusion
Polish:
delirka
— mental state of confusion
Portuguese:
delírio
— mental state of confusion
Romanian:
delir
— mental state of confusion
Russian:
бред
(bred)
— mental state of confusion
Russian:
дели́рий
(delírij)
— mental state of confusion
Russian:
горя́чка
(gorjáčka)
— mental state of confusion
Scottish Gaelic:
breisleach
— mental state of confusion
Scottish Gaelic:
boile
— mental state of confusion
Scottish Gaelic:
mearan
— mental state of confusion
Scottish Gaelic:
bruaillean
— mental state of confusion
Serbo-Croatian:
делиријум
— mental state of confusion
Serbo-Croatian:
delirijum
— mental state of confusion
Slovak:
delírium
— mental state of confusion
Slovene:
delirij
— mental state of confusion
Spanish:
delirio
— mental state of confusion
Swedish:
delirium
— mental state of confusion
Tagalog:
deliryo
— mental state of confusion
Turkish:
sayıklama
— mental state of confusion
Turkish:
deliriyum
— mental state of confusion
Ukrainian:
бред
(bred)
— mental state of confusion
Ukrainian:
делі́рій
(delírij)
— mental state of confusion