psycho

¹

[ sahy-koh ]

noun

, plural psy·chos.

1. a psychopathic or psychotic person.
2. a crazy or mentally unstable person.

adjective

1. psychopathic or psychotic.
2. crazy; mentally unstable.

psycho-

²

1. a combining form representing psyche ( psychological ) and psychological ( psychoanalysis ) in compound words.

psycho-

¹

combining_form

1. indicating the mind or psychological or mental processes

   psychosomatic

   psychogenesis

   psychology

psycho

²

/ ˈsaɪkəʊ /

noun

1. See psychopath
   an informal and offensive word for psychopath or psychopathic See psychopath

Word History and Origins

Origin of psycho¹

First recorded in 1935–40; by shortening

Origin of psycho²

< Greek, combining form of psȳchḗ breath, spirit, soul, mind; akin to psȳ́chein to blow ( psykter )

Word History and Origins

Origin of psycho¹

from Greek psukhē spirit, breath

Example Sentences

The new year’s first blockbuster novel is “The Push,” by Ashley Audrain, a psychological suspense tale about a mother’s fears that her pre-school-age daughter may be a psycho killer.

From Washington Post

When, in succession, he made Vertigo (1958), North by Northwest (1959), Psycho (1960), and The Birds (1963).

From The Daily Beast

In Psycho a psychiatrist (the young Simon Oakland) tells us in clinical terms what we've seen.

From The Daily Beast

To bolster my case I told him we should actually call it Pursuito, like Vertigo or Psycho.

From The Daily Beast

He is the author of Broken Glass, Memoirs of a Porcupine, and African Psycho, among others.

From The Daily Beast

Because there was plenty more psycho and much more drama on the way.

From The Daily Beast

But there is a wide gulf between that and concluding that all psycho-biological phenomena are hallucinations.

From Project Gutenberg

That caution about 'heightened psycho-physiological effects,' that we were never able to understand!

From Project Gutenberg

We want to work out a substitute for Beta that will keep the flavor of the drink without the psycho-physiological effects.

From Project Gutenberg

When Dr. Martin first introduced him into the psycho-recovery room his resolution almost vanished.

From Project Gutenberg

If we are to do our work properly, we must base it completely upon modern psycho physical fundamentals.

From Project Gutenberg