schizophrenic

American  

[skit-suh-fren-ik] / ˌskɪt səˈfrɛn ɪk /

adjective

1. Psychiatry. of or relating to schizophrenia.

   Not all of these patients are schizophrenic.

2. of or relating to conflicting or inconsistent elements; characterized by unusual disparity.

   It wavers from comedy to thriller to docudrama—a totally schizophrenic plot!

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noun

Psychiatry.

1. a person with schizophrenia.

   Schizophrenics are often unable to focus on certain objects.

Etymology

Origin of schizophrenic

First recorded in 1910–15; schizophren(ia) ( def. ) + -ic ( def. )

Example Sentences

Pace had “a rather schizophrenic career,” according to the Encyclopedia of African American Actresses in Film and Television by Bob McCann.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026

“You almost have a schizophrenic personality on AI right now,” Kolano said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

The mental health trust was involved in the care of Valdo Calocane, a paranoid schizophrenic who killed Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates in the Nottingham attacks in June 2023.

From BBC • Jan. 19, 2026

I did a film called “The Saint of Fort Washington,” where I played a homeless schizophrenic.

From Salon • Mar. 25, 2025

Her adoptive father was schizophrenic and for a time lived at Philadelphia State Hospital at Byberry, a sprawling mental institution that was later closed by court order because it inhumanely “warehoused” its patients.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove