psychic

American  

[sahy-kik] / ˈsaɪ kɪk /

adjective

1. of or relating to the human soul or mind; mental.

2. Psychology. pertaining to or noting mental phenomena.

3. outside of natural or scientific knowledge; spiritual.

4. of or relating to some apparently nonphysical force or agency.

   psychic research;

   psychic phenomena.

5. sensitive to influences or forces of a nonphysical or supernatural nature.

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noun

• psychics
  plural

1. a person who is allegedly sensitive to psychic influences or forces; medium.

psychic British  

/ ˈsaɪkɪk /

adjective

1. 1. outside the possibilities defined by natural laws, as mental telepathy

   2. (of a person) sensitive to forces not recognized by natural laws

2. mental as opposed to physical; psychogenic

3. bridge (of a bid) based on less strength than would normally be required to make the bid

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noun

1. a person who is sensitive to parapsychological forces or influences

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interpsychic
  adjective
• nonpsychic
  adjective
• nonpsychical
  adjective
• psychical
  adjective
• unpsychic
  adjective
• psychically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• psychics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of psychic

First recorded in 1855–60; from Greek psȳchikós “of the soul”; see Psyche, -ic

Explanation

A psychic reads minds and predicts the future. If you were a psychic, you wouldn't have bothered reading this because you would have known what I was going to say. Psychic can also describe something that has to do with your mind more than your body. You weren't physically harmed when your favorite team lost the championship game, but the psychic pain was considerable. Psychic comes from a Greek word meaning “breath” and “soul”: psychic matters are often felt but not seen.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

psychic psychics

Its key highlights were a meditation sanctuary, vegetarian restaurant and "psychic" readings, organised by the British Astrological Society and Psychic Society.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

When she wakes up, Margaret realizes she has a subtle psychic ability pointing her toward an opaque destiny.

From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026

Like the narrator of the latter, he finds psychic fulfillment in becoming his own enemy, in beating himself up.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026

For the psychic who does a spiritual cleanse on her, they were lucky to find one who agreed to have his face on camera.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

It was some kind of psychic message—not just from them, but also from within myself.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Social media is awash in content about the arcane: how-tos for spellcasting, psychics claiming to foretell the future and endless posts about casting out demons.

From Salon ● Apr. 1, 2026

She doesn’t remember any preoccupation with psychics or mediums growing up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025

He wanted to study high-functioning voice hearers, and a gathering of psychics seemed like a good place to find them.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2025

Many young Chinese have recently turned to psychics and astrology as a way of trying to allay their fears of the future.

From BBC ● Feb. 12, 2025

It was almost like they’d been waiting for me to ask them if I could go to Reardan, like they were psychics or something.

From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie

Related Words

• mental
• metaphysical
• psychological
• spiritual
• supernatural