(Science: psychiatry) A psychotic disorder marked by persistent delusions of persecution or delusional jealousy and behaviour like that of the paranoid personality, such as suspiciousness, mistrust and combativeness.
It differs from paranoid schizophrenia, in which hallucinations or formal thought disorder are present, in that the delusions are logically consistent and that there are no other psychotic features.
The designation in DSM III R is delusional (paranoid) disorders, with five types: persecutory, jealous, erotomanic, somatic and grandiose.
Origin: Gr. Madness, delirium, from noein = to think