psych

¹

or psyche

[ sahyk ]

verb (used with object)

, psyched, psych·ing.

1. to make happily excited or full of eager anticipation:

   Your stories about Edinburgh have psyched me more than ever for my trip there next year!

2. to prepare mentally and emotionally so as to be in the right frame of mind to do one's best (often followed by up ):

   He sat with his eyes closed in the aircraft, psyching himself for his first parachute jump.

3. to intimidate, make nervous, mislead, etc., in order to gain an advantage:

   A good chess player knows how to psych the opponent.

interjection

1. Sometimes . (used after deliberately misleading someone, to let them know they’ve been fooled):

   I’ve decided to put the house up for sale, and the agent is coming by in an hour . . . Psych!

verb phrase

1. psych-out.
2. 1. to prepare mentally and emotionally for a challenge:

      I have to psych myself up for the annual family reunion.

   2. to create excitement and eager anticipation in:

      Beach parties, road trips, stargazing, barbecues—here are 10 tunes to psych you up for summer!

psych

²

[ sahyk ]

noun

, Informal.

1. psychology, especially as a course or field of study:

   She took two semesters of psych in college.

psych

³

[ sahyk ]

noun

1. psychedelic music ( def ).

adjective

1. psychedelic ( def ):

   stunning psych colors and patterns.

psych-

⁴

1. variant of psycho- before some vowels:

   psychasthenia.

psych.

⁵

abbreviation for

1. psychological.
2. psychologist.
3. psychology.

psych

/ saɪk /

verb

1. informal.
   tr to psychoanalyse See also psych out psych up

Word History and Origins

Origin of psych¹

First recorded in 1915–20 in earlier sense “to subject to psychoanalysis”; originally a shortening of psychoanalyze; in later use (especially in psych ¹defs 2, 3 ), perhaps as independent use of psych-

Origin of psych²

First recorded in 1890–95; by shortening

Origin of psych³

First recorded in 1985–90

Word History and Origins

Origin of psych¹

C20: shortened from psychoanalyse

Example Sentences

The only parts of Lois’ coma dreams that weren’t real were the grisly murders, until somebody starts recreating them…which drives Lois back to the hospital, the psych ward this time.

From Salon

Soon after, he would be falsely accused of murder and locked in a psych ward, because police tricked him into believing he was a killer.

From Los Angeles Times

"Every day I have a call from the welfare team from Channel 4 and I also have access to a psych as well and they're fantastic," he said.

From BBC

Their psych ward meet-cute isn't as romantic as it sounds — I promise.

From Salon

At the moment, he’s neck-deep in trauma, getting in bar fights, failing his “psych eval.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• attitude
• medicine
• mindset
• therapy

Words That Use psych-

What does psych- mean?

Psych– is a combining form used like a prefix meaning either “psyche” or “psychological.” Psyche denotes “the human soul, spirit, or mind,” while psychological is a related yet distinct term that means “pertaining to psychology, the science of the mind or of mental states.” Psych– is often used in medical and technical terms, especially in psychology.

Psych– comes from Greek psȳchḗ, meaning “breath, spirit, soul, mind.” For more on the meaning of this word in Ancient Greek mythology, read our entry for psyche. The word psyche is at the root of the term psychedelic, which refers to the effect of hallucinogenic drugs.

What are variants of psych-?

Psych– is a variant of psycho–, which loses its –o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article about psycho-.

Examples of psych-

One example of a term you may be familiar with that features the form psych– is psychiatry, “the practice or science of diagnosing and treating mental disorders.”

The psych– part of the word means “mind,” and –iatry means “healing” or “medical practice,” from Greek iātreía. Psychiatry literally means “mind healing” or “the practice of healing the psyche.”

What are some words that use the combining form psych-?

• psychalgia
• psychataxia
• psychiatric
• psychiatrist
• psychic (using the equivalent form of psych– in Greek)
• psychosis (using the equivalent form of psych– in Greek)
• psychotic (using the equivalent form of psych– in Greek)

What are some other forms that psych– may be commonly confused with?

• pseudo-
• psychro-
• py-
• pyro-

Break it down!

The combining form –algia means “pain.” With this in mind, what is the medical condition psychalgia?