psych-out

or psych·out

[ sahyk-out ]

noun

1. an act or instance of seeking to intimidate, make nervous, mislead, etc., in order to gain an advantage:

   Trash talk and psych-outs are common along the starting line of a horse race.

2. an intense, uncontrolled emotional reaction, or something that causes such a reaction:

   The song is an eight-minute psych-out that exudes passion and never loses its sense of power pop.

adjective

1. involving or making use of intimidation, manipulation, etc., to gain an advantage over someone or get them to do something:

   He says hypnosis is just a psych-out method to get you to convince yourself that you don't need to smoke.

verb phrase

1. psych out [sahyk , out],
   1. to intimidate, make nervous, mislead, etc., in order to gain an advantage over:

      You can bluff, chat, and try to psych out the other players in online poker just like you can in person.

   2. to have or cause to have an intense and uncontrolled emotional reaction; freak out:

      I overhear too many parents psych out their kids with outdated information about getting a tooth filled.

   3. to figure out, especially in a way that involves psychology:

      I won't say I think like a cat, but I can kind of psych out how a cat would behave in a certain situation.

psych out

verb

1. to guess correctly the intentions of (another); outguess
2. to analyse or solve (a problem, etc) psychologically
3. to intimidate or frighten
4. intr, adverb to lose control psychologically; break down

Word History and Origins

Origin of psych-out¹

First recorded in 1955–60; noun use of verb phrase psych out

Example Sentences

The Garden’s bad blood toward Green, who seemed to psych out the Celtics in Game 2, took a back seat early to Boston’s crisp play.

From Washington Post

Artaud, who worked on the vault release, did not meet Vega until after his band covered a Vega song on “Psych Out Christmas,” a 2013 compilation.

From New York Times

There are chase scenes, searching in dark scary places scenes, scenes in which a person is holding a gun on another person, scenes in which bad guys try to psych out Clarice, and scenes in which Clarice psychs out the bad guys.

From Los Angeles Times

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Los Angeles Lakers opened the Western Conference finals hooting and hollering, full of vigor and certain they would be able to psych out the younger and less experienced Denver Nuggets.

From Washington Post

In the N.B.A., the fans are imbued with the power to influence the refs, psych out free-throw shooters and generally mess with players’ heads.

From New York Times

Related Words

• agitate
• bewilder
• chill
• confound
• daunt
• demoralize
• disconcert
• discourage
• dishearten
• dismay
• dispirit
• distract
• fluster
• frighten
• perturb
• rattle
• sap
• shake
• undermine
• unsettle