neurotic

Converse of object

• become: Then I'll complain a lot, become neurotic, and generally be a pain in the ass for a while.
• get: When they did the Church got neurotic and issued an edict.

Adjective modifier

• self-centered: Well, my writing partner is a self-centered tedious neurotic whose attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium.
• tedious: Well, my writing partner is a self-centered tedious neurotic whose attempts at writing are the literary equivalent of Valium.
• poor: Christians, however, cannot abide humility in anyone other than monks or poor neurotics that like to live on pillars or in cells.

Modifies a noun

• disorder: Having more than one neurotic disorder was associated with heavy smoking.
• symptom: A group of prisoners with very severe neurotic symptoms ( scores of 36 or more in the CIS-R ) was also followed up.
• personality: Many past writers had difficult and neurotic personalities, and the same traits are all too evident today.
• fear: He was a man of ruthless cruelty and huge insecurity who continually lived in a neurotic fear of the loss of power and influence.
• mother: Do they feel that neurotic mothers are imagining feeding problems?
• behavior: In biblical counseling we are not content with eliminating neurotic behavior or symptoms.

Used with adjective complement

become: How did Dorothy become so neurotic -- what happened to her?

Noun used with modifier

• war: The physicians were therefore led to regard war neurotics in a similar light to the nervous subjects of peace-time.
• bit: I'm naturally paranoid & more than a bit neurotic about such things.

Modifying Another Word

• slightly: The machine is quite eloquent, but I would be concerned by the needy and slightly neurotic tone.
• almost: They went from believing that Britain could do anything to an almost neurotic belief that Britain could do nothing.
• not: These people are not neurotic in the sense that they should fear nothing at all.
• too: Paul Bettany: I think I'm too neurotic for that to be honest.
• so: As one said: I am cross with myself for being so neurotic about exams.
• highly: For example, I am both highly neurotic and highly self-confident.