hebephrenia
/ˌhiːbɪˈfriːniə/
noun
- A severe mental disorder, a type of schizophrenia, characterized by disorganized thinking, inappropriate emotions, and silly or childish behavior.
- Hebephrenia often begins in adolescence and can make it hard for a person to hold a normal conversation.
- The patient was diagnosed with hebephrenia after showing signs of confused speech and laughter at sad news.
- Doctors in the early 1900s used the term hebephrenia to describe a form of mental illness marked by silly, unpredictable actions.