neuroticism.

A personality dimension concerning the tendency to experience distress and react strongly to perceived threats or difficulties.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• trait neuroticism
• measure neuroticism

On the page

The researchers measured neuroticism without treating a high score as a clinical diagnosis.

The account linked neuroticism with sensitivity to stress while acknowledging individual and situational variation.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychology / character / human behavior. Forms: Usually uncountable. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: characterization, motivation, interpersonal behavior, self-evaluation. Disciplines: psychology, human behavior, character writing. Commonness: uncommon.