psychopath

[ sahy-kuh-path ]

noun

1. a person with a psychopathic personality, which manifests as amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, etc.

psychopath

/ ˈsaɪkəʊˌpæθ /

noun

1. a person afflicted with a personality disorder characterized by a tendency to commit antisocial and sometimes violent acts and a failure to feel guilt for such acts Also calledsociopath

psychopath

1. A mentally unbalanced person who is inclined toward antisocial and criminal behavior. ( Compare sociopath .)

Derived Forms

• ˌpsychoˈpathic, adjective
• ˌpsychoˈpathically, adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of psychopath¹

First recorded in 1880–85; psycho- + -path

Example Sentences

The idea was to be sympathetic enough that viewers would conclude “these young women were not psychopaths” even if “they made different choices than you or I would have made.”

From Los Angeles Times

Among the various courses on Christopher's website is one which teaches people how to "overcome and destroy the devastating effects of narcissists and psychopaths" at a cost of £280.

From BBC

I said to myself, this man is not normal, he is a psychopath.

From BBC

So she goes and plays to 75,000 people, then she comes off, and I’m sure she’s like, “I’m a psychopath for being able to do that.”

From Los Angeles Times

This is necessary for civilization to exist, but it makes humans easy marks when faced with an apparent psychopath.

From Salon

Related Words

• lunatic
• maniac
• psycho
• sociopath