as in anxiety
a feeling that one does not know the whole truth or that someone else is not being truthful
Each half of the unhappy couple was constantly wracked with paranoia that the other was cheating.
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Recent Examples of paranoia
The report also says that because of abnormal heart activity, high blood pressure and paranoia, Estupinan had been prescribed three powerful drugs generally used for treating psychiatric problems.
—
Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025
If 28 Days Later presaged our post-9/11 paranoia and dread, 28 Years Later settles into the resigned gloom of our modern age, where everything is rubbish and only getting worse.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 20 June 2025
This was not mere paranoia, the historian Marc-William Palen has shown.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
As fear blurs into paranoia, the film explores the unsettling reality of surveillance, obsession and the quiet dread of being followed.
Stomach It | 2024 | United States | Peter Klausner | A crime scene cleaner struggles with emotionally detaching from the deceased’s personal possessions.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for paranoia
Charles Rabin, Miami Herald, 26 June 2025
If 28 Days Later presaged our post-9/11 paranoia and dread, 28 Years Later settles into the resigned gloom of our modern age, where everything is rubbish and only getting worse.
—Tim Grierson, Vulture, 20 June 2025
This was not mere paranoia, the historian Marc-William Palen has shown.
—Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 16 June 2025
As fear blurs into paranoia, the film explores the unsettling reality of surveillance, obsession and the quiet dread of being followed.
Stomach It | 2024 | United States | Peter Klausner | A crime scene cleaner struggles with emotionally detaching from the deceased’s personal possessions.
—Matthew Carey, Deadline, 25 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for paranoia
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paranoia
Noun
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Jail records from 2019 show that Ornelas suffered from depression and anxiety and had previously been placed on suicide watch.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 July 2025
-
For example, a 2019 report by Columbia University in the City of New York highlighted how boredom is associated with issues such as risky behavior, anxiety and depression.—
Eric Wood,
Forbes.com,
5 July 2025
Noun
-
Those investments have created concern in recent years for some stakeholders.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
14 July 2025
-
Last month, the Lyon Bar Association raised concerns about overcrowding at the Lyon-Corbas prison, the BBC reported, and Cauwel said that the prison currently has an occupancy rate of 170%.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
14 July 2025
Noun
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Dexter stalks his next victim (Marc Menchaca) — a killer who targets ride-share drivers — while the ghost of his father Harry (James Remar) urges him to be careful, and a fidgety Harrison tries to evade police suspicions.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
10 July 2025
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That new regime’s anti-Western stance put it on a path to conflict with the United States and Israel, and created their long-standing suspicion that Iran’s nuclear program was not purely civilian, as Tehran claimed, but also involved clandestine efforts to develop weapons.—
Roya Hakakian,
The Atlantic,
10 July 2025
Noun
-
That play had Rodón raising his arms in disbelief, as well as appreciation.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
12 July 2025
-
In the Waldorf’s case, the contractor called SOM in disbelief.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Paranoia.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paranoia. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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