| 词组 | paranoia, paranoiac, paranoid |
| 释义 | paranoia, paranoiac, paranoid Paranoia and paranoid receive some attention from a couple of British commentators (Howard 1977, Phythian 1979) and one Canadian (Colter 1981 ), the upshot of which is that the popular use of these terms erodes the language and mocks serious mental illness. These criticisms are wrong on two points. First, the technical usage of the psychiatrist, psychologist, or other professional is not one whit impaired by the popular use. Second, it seems unlikely that a word that has developed so common an extended sense can sensibly be seen to mock serious mental illness any more than other words with common extended meanings, such as insanity, lunacy, or madness. The popular use is fully established in American English and recognized by American dictionaries; it is also defended and justified by Reader's Digest 1983. You need not give it a second thought. Here are a few examples: • Paranoia is not so much the belief that the FBI spies on citizens as it is the belief that the paranoid is the primary target of the spying —Hugh Drummond, M.D., Mother Jones, January 1980 • ... the deteriorating economy will probably add to the government's paranoia —The Economist, 1 Feb. 1975 • ... a form of cultural paranoia that saw affronts to that dignity everywhere —Joseph Epstein, Commentary, January 1972 • There was a paranoia in Richard Nixon's White House —James M. Perry, National Observer, 7 July 1973 In adjective use, paranoiac is much less commonly used in the popular sense than paranoid is. Consequently it has rather a highbrow cachet: • ... this rhetoric reaches paranoiac heights of scurrility and lunatic accusation: terror already stalks the land, the police are supporting groups of left-wing assassins —E. J. Hobsbawm, TV. Y. Rev. of Books, 23 Sept. 1971 • Single men in the Hamptons during the week are paranoiac about the intentions of the slim, tanned beauties —Linda Franke, New York, 5 July 1971 Paranoid is the common term. Here are some attributive examples: • ... argued that the Soviet leaders had a paranoid view of the outside world —Richard J. Barnet, Harper's, November 1971 • Its more paranoid supporters like to argue that it is the victim of repression —John Tebbel, Saturday Rev., 13 Nov. 1971 • ... the Russians have moved what appears to be a permanent force of a million men up against the frontier with the result that both nations live in the paranoid shadow of war —Barbara Tuchman, Harper's, December 1972 • ... do stunning bits as, respectively, a mod minister, an up-from-poverty judge and a paranoid cop — Judith Crist, New York, 8 Feb. 1971 As a predicate adjective paranoid seems quite common in speech as well as print. It tends to be followed by about, over, and of: • He's kind of paranoid about his privacy —Patrick Anderson, Cosmopolitan, July 1976 • ... the star exploded, possibly paranoid about appearing as somewhat less than a totally "serious" person—Mary Reinholz, Women's Wear Daily, 19 Mar. 1979 • One coach who seems to be particularly paranoid over long hair, pot, militant blacks and so forth — Dan Jenkins, Sports Illustrated, 14 Sept. 1970 • ... he was a little paranoid of landing in Havana — Jeanne Devries, Avant Garde, March 1970 |
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