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Glite Dictionary
paranoidal

paranoidal

9.3
Feeling very suspicious and afraid that others will harm you
  • adjective
  • /ˌpærəˈnɔɪdəl/
translation icon : paranoide
  • She became increasingly paranoidal, believing that her friends were secretly discussing her behind her back.

Examples

  • Earlier phases of the union's activity are usually dominated by characteropathic, particularly paranoidal, individuals, who often play an inspirational or spellbinding role in the ponerization process.

    Blog text (2)

  • Paranoidal character disorders

    Blog text (2)

  • That simply fascinating paranoidal female.

    The Bad Seed (1956)

  • His paranoidal thoughts led him to suspect that everyone was plotting against him.

  • The paranoidal tendencies of the character were evident in his reluctance to trust anyone.

Synonyms

paranoid
vsparanoidal
392 5.6

Feeling very afraid and not trusting other people

is about resembling that extreme distrust rather than being a clinical state
suspicious
vsparanoidal
138 3.2

Not trusting other people or what they say

is stronger implying persistent extreme distrust
wary
vsparanoidal
110 3.6

Careful because you do not trust someone or something

is more intense and suggests extreme lasting distrust
leery
vsparanoidal
23 6.9

Careful because you do not trust someone or something

is more intense and implies constant extreme suspicion
mistrustful
vsparanoidal
5 5.2

Not trusting people and not willing to tell them private things

is more extreme and focuses on deep persistent distrust

How Suspicious

paranoidal
9.3
suspicious
138 3.2
wary
110 3.6
trusting
12 2.1

Surface Forms

paranoidal positive

Morphology

paranoidal = paranoid (transparent) = paranoid + al

Formed by adding the productive suffix '-al' to the adjective 'paranoid', yielding a straightforward 'relating to' meaning.

Etymology

Paranoidal comes from Greek parts para ('beside' or 'against') and nous ('mind') and shares the same root as paranoid and paranoia. Think of it as a mind that feels 'beside itself', so someone paranoidal has extreme suspicion and distrust of others.