sociopath

[soh-see-uh-path, soh-shee-]

noun

Psychiatry.

1. a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

sociopath

/ ˌsəʊsɪˈɒpəθɪ, ˈsəʊsɪəˌpæθ /

noun

1. psychiatry another name for psychopath

sociopath

1. Someone whose social behavior is extremely abnormal. Sociopaths are interested only in their personal needs and desires, without concern for the effects of their behavior on others. (Compare psychopath.)

Other Word Forms

• sociopathic adjective
• sociopathy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sociopath¹

First recorded in 1940–45; socio- + -path

Example Sentences

Just stand there and stare like a sociopath.

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As a class, social scientists and other experts have shown that the richest Americans — and corporations, which have been given the rights of people by the Supreme Court — often behave like sociopaths.

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Wilde, Mr. Delbourgo writes, introduced the 20th-century image of the collector as a “closet homosexual and sociopath” who is “so pathologically weak, he is dangerous.”

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On Thursday, the trial heard that Mr Linehan posted messages on social media calling the complainant - whom he referred to as Tarquin - a "deeply disturbed sociopath" and a "domestic terrorist".

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"All but one of the characters is a sociopath, so the movie works on almost no levels. I love to put it on and yell at it."

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Related Words

• lunatic