psychological moment

noun

1. the proper or critical time for achieving a desired result:

   She found the right psychological moment to make her request.

psychological moment

noun

1. the most appropriate time for producing a desired effect

   he proposed to her at the psychological moment

Word History and Origins

Origin of psychological moment¹

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

But it is the film's psychological moments that engage the emotions.

From Salon

“Putin has a thing about going down in history. This was his story, and Ivanov entered his territory…. It was an important psychological moment.”

From Reuters

The Times was suitably impressed by his "knowledge of human nature, and an extremely shrewd application of business principles in securing the advantage at the psychological moment".

From BBC

In his rehearsal, he urges his dancers to get uncomfortably close to one another, to find “those weird psychological moments.”

From Washington Post

He identifies two concepts: the fleeting “perceptual moment” as short as one-twentieth of a second; and the “psychological moment,” a longer period of several seconds when a single event unfolds.

From Washington Post