hyper-, hyp-

(Greek: above, over; excessive; more than normal; abnormal excess [in medicine]; abnormally great or powerful sensation [in physical or pathological terms]; highest [in chemical compounds])

hypertarachia
An abnormal irritability of the nervous system.
hypertension (high" pur TEN shuhn) (s) (noun), hypertensions *pl)
1. Any abnormally intense anxiety or stress: Sometimes teachers are very nervous trying to meet all the demands of the students, their parents, other teachers, and the principal; all of which can cause a state of hypertension.
2. Unusually high blood pressure; especially, in the arteries, or a diseased condition of which this is the chief symptom: Some people who are overweight are in a greater risk of certain illnesses, among them are diabetes and hypertension, which in itself can cause further disabilities and illnesses.
hypertensive
1. Any abnormally high tension.
2. Abnormally high blood pressure, or a disease of which this is the chief sign.
hypertensive crisis
A sudden increase of blood pressure to a very high level associated with vomiting, severe headache, transient blindness, and the rapid deterioration of renal (kidney) function.
hyperthermal, hyperthermic
A reference to an abnormally elevated body temperature; such as fever.
hyperthermalgesia (s) (noun) (no pl)
Extreme sensitiveness (pain) to heat; thermalgia: Nancy never wanted to live in the desert because she suffered from hyperthermalgesia, so she tried to find a job in a moderate climate.
hyperthermia
1. Therapeutically induced hyperpyrexia.
2. Characterized by excess heat; of very high temperature.
3. The condition of having a body temperature substantially above the normal either as a result of natural causes or artificially induced (e.g. for therapeutic purposes).
hyperthermia, hypothermia
hyperthermia (high" puhr THUR mee uh) (noun)
Unusually high body temperature: The doctors were worried because the patient seemed very hot as if suffering from hyperthermia.
hypothermia (high" puh THUR mee uh) (noun)
Abnormally low body temperature: People who enjoy hiking in the winter need to be very careful that they don't develop hypothermia and frostbite.

The doctors were very worried about Josie's well-being because her temperatures kept fluctuating between hyperthermia and hypothermia without a medical explanation.

hyperthermoesthesia, hyperthermoaesthesia (s) (noun); hyperthermoesthesias; hyperthermoaesthesias (pl)
Extreme sensitiveness to heat: Bertha's hyperthermoesthesia always results in her face being very red whenever she is in a heated room and during hot summers.
hyperthermophile (s) (noun), hyperthermophiles (pl)
An organism that thrives best in temperatures of 80 degrees Celsius or higher. A hyperthermophile is a life form that can exist in an extremely hot environment, like in hot springs with a water temperature around the boiling point.
hyperthermotherapy
The use of abnormally high body temperature, especially that which is induced for therapeutic purposes.
hyperthermy (s) (noun), hyperthermies (pl)
An abnormally high body temperature: "Hyperthermia can be caused by a high fever, a heat stroke, central nervous system diseases, or infections; including, encephalitis, malaria, meningitis, sepsis, etc."

"Some hyperthermies are artificially induced by the introduction of an injection of foreign proteins or by physical means as a treatment for certain diseases."

hyperthymestic syndrome, hyperthymesia
A condition involving individuals who have a superior autobiographical memory (from Greek thymesis, "remember, memory").

The unusual characteristic of hyperthymesia is that the person has an extraordinary capacity to recall specific events from his/her personal past.

Remembering every day of one's life in extraordinary detail

  • Mention any date since 1980 and a 42-year-old woman in California remembers every day of her life since her teens.
  • She can relate where she was, what she was doing, and what made the news on any of the days.
  • Having a normal healthy memory isn't just about retaining the significant things.
  • Far more important is being able to forget the insignificant occurrences.
  • Initial tests indicated that the woman was able to correctly identify the dates of every Easter for 24 years, plus where she was and what she was doing on those dates.
  • Generally, a memory is formed in three stages: first it is encoded, then stored, and later retrieved.
  • It is possible that hyperthymestics carry out these three tasks with much greater efficiency than people in general.
  • The extraordinary memory of hyperthymestics could also be explained by a failure of the strategies their brains use to forget the things they don't need to remember.
  • Efficient forgetting is a crucial part of having a fully functioning memory.
—Excerpts from "Unforgettable" by Jessica Marshall,
a science writer based in Saint Paul, Minnesota;
as seen in New Scientist, February 16, 2008; pages 30-33.
hyperthymia
1. Abnormal emotionalism.
2. Emotional hypersensitivity.
3. A condition marked by unstable emotions.
hyperthyrea
1. An excessive functional activity of the thyroid gland.
2. The abnormal condition resulting from hyperthyroidism marked by an increased metabolic rate, enlargement of the thyroid gland, rapid heart rate, high blood pressure, and various secondary symptoms.

Related "above, over, beyond the normal, excessive" word units: epi-; super-, supra-, sur; ultra-, ult-.

Inter-related cross references, directly or indirectly, involving word units meaning "more, plentiful, fullness, excessive, over flowing": copi-; exuber-; multi-; opulen-; ple-; pleio-; plethor-; poly-; super-; total-; ultra-; undu-.