Both Uses of
paranoid
in
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- In later years I was to confront the stereotyped picture of gay song-singing cotton pickers with such inordinate rage that I was told even by fellow Blacks that my paranoia was embarrassing.†
p. 8.9
- I suppose my lifelong paranoia was born in those cold, molasses-slow minutes.†
p. 30.6 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(paranoid used casually) excessively suspicious that others want to harm you; or excessively fearful
-
(2)
(paranoid used clinically) suffering from a psychological disorder characterized by excessive distrust of others -- thinking "they are out to get me"