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. See psych up, psych out
   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

Partly this is because they are dogs, and thus blessedly free from the tendency to psych themselves out.

From Quartz

I tend to be very hard on myself and I psych myself out when it’s time to disclose.

From Essence.com

Over tea at the Harvard Club, professor William Moulton Marston offered her a job — not in the classroom or psych lab, but in the office of his 43rd Street art studio.

From Washington Post

The available second-floor space had been Hillcrest, the psych ward that a number of the homeless associated with past traumas.

From Time

In a Minnesota VA psych ward, a veteran shoots himself in the head.

From The Daily Beast

Psych was a show always keenly aware of its spot in the pop culture universe.

From The Daily Beast

After close to a two-year wait, Psych: The Musical will finally air this Sunday on USA.

From The Daily Beast

Why couldn't they find a psych bed anywhere in southwestern Virginia for Gus Deeds?

From The Daily Beast

Every inmate admitted into the Arizona Department of Corrections is required to take a mandatory psych test.

From The Daily Beast

Usually crews that had to wait hours before passing through psych raised a big fuss.

From Project Gutenberg

That was the trouble with crews of ships when they thought they might be held up by psych over something.

From Project Gutenberg

The psych man was wearing his Star Watcher helmet and had a B-gun strapped at his side.

From Project Gutenberg

And if I involved myself in any conspiracy against the Lhari, they'd find it out in the routine psych-checking.

From Project Gutenberg

And we've learned enough individual psych to do some real indoctrinating!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• attitude
• medicine
• mindset
• therapy