Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Experiencing delirium: In a state of mental confusion, often with hallucinations, incoherent speech, and restlessness, typically caused by illness, fever, or intoxication.
   • Marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion: Wildly excited, ecstatic, or frenzied, often to an irrational degree.

Usage

• As an attribute (before a noun): Describes a noun directly.
  • The doctor treated the delirious patient.
• As a predicate (after a linking verb like 'be', 'become', 'seem'): Describes the subject's state.
  • She became delirious from the high fever.
  • The fans were delirious with joy after the victory.

Examples

• Experiencing delirium (medical/confused state):
  • The high fever made him delirious, and he began talking to people who weren't there.
  • Patients in the intensive care unit can sometimes become delirious due to medication or their condition.
• Marked by uncontrolled excitement (ecstatic/frenzied state):
  • The crowd gave a delirious roar when the winning goal was scored.
  • She was delirious with happiness upon hearing the good news.

Advanced Usage

• "Delirious with [emotion]": A common construction to specify the cause of the wild excitement.
  • He was delirious with pride when his son graduated.
  • They were delirious with anticipation before the concert.

Variants and Related Words

• Delirium (n): The state of being delirious.
  • The patient slipped into a state of delirium.
• Deliriously (adv): In a delirious manner.
  • The team celebrated deliriously.

Synonyms

• Frenzied: Wildly excited or uncontrolled.
• Ecstatic: Overwhelmingly joyful.
• Hysterical: In a state of uncontrolled emotion, often excitement or fear.
• Raving: Talking wildly or irrationally (often overlaps with the "confused" sense).

Antonyms

• Lucid: Thinking clearly; rational.
• Composed: Calm and in control of one's feelings.
• Sober: Serious, sensible, and not under the influence of strong emotion or intoxication.

Idioms and Common Phrases

• "Deliriously happy": Extremely and uncontrollably happy.
  • Winning the award made her deliriously happy.
• "In a delirious state": Experiencing delirium or a state of wild excitement.
  • The fever left him in a delirious state for hours.

Adjective

1. marked by uncontrolled excitement or emotion
   • a crowd of delirious baseball fans
   • something frantic in their gaiety
   • a mad whirl of pleasure
2. experiencing delirium