paranoia
pa·ra·noia/ˌpæɹ.əˈnɔɪ.ə/noun
paranoia is spelled P-A-R-A-N-O-I-A: 8 letters and 3 syllables (pa·ra·noia). It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, paranoia means “Extreme, irrational distrust of others” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of paranoia is paranoias; Wiktionary also lists paranoiæ (archaic).
How many letters and syllables are in paranoia?
| Letters | 8: P-A-R-A-N-O-I-A |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: pa·ra·noia |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,687th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is paranoia?
Paranoia appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce paranoia?
- UK /ˌpæɹ.əˈnɔɪ.ə/
- US /ˌpæɹ.əˈnɔɪ.ə/
- US /ˌpɛɹ.əˈnɔɪ.ə/
Paranoia has 3 syllables, split pa·ra·noia in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-paranoia.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with paranoia?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as paranoia from its last stressed vowel (/ɔɪə/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of paranoia
- paranoias plural
- paranoïa hypercorrect
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does paranoia mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
obsoleteA psychotic disorder, now called delusional disorder, often (in one of six subtypes) characterized by delusions of persecution and a perceived threat against the individual affected with the disorder, and often associated with false accusations and a general mistrust of others.
- 2
Extreme, irrational distrust of others.
noun
- 1
rareRare form of paranoia.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Paranoia in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a psychotic disorder characterized by delusions of persecution:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | paranoïa |
| German | Paranoia, Verfolgungswahn |
| Portuguese | paranoia |
| Spanish | paranoia, paranoya, noica |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does paranoia come from?
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek παράνοια (paránoia, “madness”), from παράνοος (paránoos, “demented”), from παρά (pará, “beyond, beside”) + νόος (nóos, “mind, spirit”). By surface analysis, para- (“abnormal, beyond”) + nous (“mind”) + -ia (“(medical) condition”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).