psychotic

American  

[sahy-kot-ik] / saɪˈkɒt ɪk /

adjective

1. Psychiatry. relating to, characterized by, or exhibiting psychosis: psychotic symptoms;

   a psychotic patient;

   psychotic symptoms;

   psychotic delusion.

   Synonyms:

   non compos mentis, demented, deranged, disturbed, mad, mentally ill, psychopathic, insane

   Antonyms:

   lucid, rational, compos mentis, sane

2. (loosely) mentally unstable.

   The man who threw a stone through the convenience store window must be psychotic.

   Synonyms:

   potty, screwy, batty, daft, cuckoo, kooky, bonkers, nuts, nutty, crazy, loony

3. intensely upset, anxious, or angry; crazy.

   My dad gets so psychotic when I come home even a little bit late.

   Synonyms:

   pissed off, livid, incensed, irate, wrathful, furious, crazed

   Antonyms:

   self-possessed, calm

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noun

1. Psychiatry. a person afflicted with psychosis.

   Synonyms:

   maniac, madman, psychopath

2. (loosely) someone who is mentally unstable.

   Her partner is a psychotic who often uses abusive language.

   Synonyms:

   kook, nutjob, nut, loon, loony

1. someone who exhibits extreme emotion or behavior.

   My brother turns into a complete psychotic whenever his team loses.

   Synonyms:

   psycho, maniac

psychotic British  

/ saɪˈkɒtɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characterized by psychosis

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noun

1. a person experiencing psychosis

Usage

It is preferable to talk about a person experiencing psychosis rather than a psychotic , which reduces a person's individuality

Other Word Forms

• nonpsychotic adjective
• psychotically adverb
• semipsychotic adjective
• unpsychotic adjective

Etymology

Origin of psychotic

First recorded in 1885–85; psych(osis) + -otic

Example Sentences

But it has also been criticized for being overly sycophantic toward users, and doctors have linked it with cases of chatbot users developing psychotic delusions.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026

At a news conference in April 2024, Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said he received a call from Zimmer that Scrivner was armed and experiencing “some type of psychotic episode” at his Tehachapi home.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026

Numerous users have reported that the chatbot is overly sycophantic, leading some to spiral into manic and psychotic episodes.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

Standard anti-nausea medications often do not work reliably, he said, which sometimes forces clinicians to turn to second and third-line options such as Haldol, a medication more commonly used for psychotic episodes.

From Science Daily • Nov. 27, 2025

“At first they thought bipolar one, but when the delusions got increasingly psychotic, and I started to have auditory hallucinations, they changed my diagnosis to schizoaffective.”

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

Related Words

• demented
• insane
• mad
• unhinged