---
title: hysterical — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «hysterical» in the school dictionary: So upset, frightened or excited that you cannot control your feelings, for example screaming or crying wildly. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# hysterical

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, example, film, joke, I, She · **What happens:** frighten, not control, scream, cry, be, laugh · **To what, where:** feelings, hysterical laughter, chair, spider, hysterics, tail · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«hysterical» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 7 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [hysterical in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/hysterical.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
So upset, frightened or excited that you cannot control your feelings, for example screaming or crying wildly.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hysterical:m1:1
# text = So upset, frightened or excited that you cannot control your feelings, for example screaming or crying wildly.
1	So	so	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	upset	upset	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	frightened	frighten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	excited	excited	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	_
7	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
8	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
9	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	control	control	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	ccomp	_	_
12	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	feelings	feeling	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	for	for	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	example	example	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
17	screaming	scream	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	16	acl	_	_
18	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
19	crying	cry	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	17	conj	_	_
20	wildly	wildly	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **frighten** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **not** **control** | can | you | your feelings |  |  |  | for example | vn enforce-63 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent feeling=Theme |
| 3 | **scream** *speech: express* | gerund | example *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **cry** *speech: express* | gerund | example *not said here* |  |  |  |  | wildly *property* | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Extremely funny: «the film was hysterical».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hysterical:m2:1
# text = Extremely funny: «the film was hysterical».
1	Extremely	extremely	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	funny	funny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	hysterical	hysterical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | past | the film |  |  |  |  | hysterical *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Laughing so much you cannot stop: hysterical laughter.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hysterical:m3:1
# text = Laughing so much you cannot stop: hysterical laughter.
1	Laughing	laugh	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
2	so	so	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	much	much	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
5	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	7	advmod	_	_
7	stop	stop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
9	hysterical	hysterical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	laughter	laughter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **laugh** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **not** **stop** | can | you | hysterical laughter |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The joke was so hysterical that I fell off my chair.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hysterical:x1:1
# text = The joke was so hysterical that I fell off my chair.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	so	so	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	hysterical	hysterical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	fell	fall	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
9	off	off	ADP	RP	_	8	compound:prt	_	_
10	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	chair	chair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the joke |  |  |  |  | hysterical *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **fall off** | past | I | my chair |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.patient V NP.extent PP.source PP.goal»: agent=Patient chair=Extent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She became hysterical when she saw the spider.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hysterical:x2:1
# text = She became hysterical when she saw the spider.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	became	become	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	hysterical	hysterical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
5	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	saw	see	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	spider	spider	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **become** | past | She |  |  |  |  | hysterical *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **see** | past | she | the spider |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer spider=Stimulus |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We were in hysterics watching the cat chase its tail.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hysterical:x3:1
# text = We were in hysterics watching the cat chase its tail.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	hysterics	hysteric	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
5	watching	watch	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	chase	chase	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	ccomp	_	_
9	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | We |  |  | hysterics |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **watch** | gerund | hysterics *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **chase** | infinitive | the cat | cat's tail |  |  |  |  | vn chase-51.6 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tail=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stay calm in a fire drill; getting hysterical makes things worse.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hysterical:x4:1
# text = Stay calm in a fire drill; getting hysterical makes things worse.
1	Stay	stay	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	calm	calm	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	xcomp	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	fire	fire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	drill	drill	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
8	getting	get	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	csubj	_	_
9	hysterical	hysterical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	xcomp	_	_
10	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	parataxis	_	_
11	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
12	worse	bad	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stay** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  | a fire drill |  | calm *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in drill=Location |
| 2 | **get** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | hysterical *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **make** | present | getting | things |  |  |  | bad *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset thing=Product |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The crowd went hysterical when the band came on stage.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hysterical:x5:1
# text = The crowd went hysterical when the band came on stage.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	crowd	crowd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	hysterical	hysterical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
5	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	8	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	band	band	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	stage	stage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | past | the crowd |  |  |  |  | hysterical *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **come** | past | the band |  |  | stage |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on stage=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The toddler was hysterical because he lost his teddy.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hysterical:x6:1
# text = The toddler was hysterical because he lost his teddy.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	toddler	toddler	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	hysterical	hysterical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	lost	lose	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	teddy	teddy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the toddler |  |  |  |  | hysterical *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **lose** | past | toddler | toddler's teddy |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent teddy=Eventuality |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad told a hysterical story about his first day at work.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hysterical:x7:1
# text = Dad told a hysterical story about his first day at work.
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	hysterical	hysterical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
8	first	first	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	9	amod	_	_
9	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
10	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | Dad | a hysterical story |  |  | about Dad's first day at work |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent story=Recipient |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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