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psych

1

or psyche

[sahyk]
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verb (used with object) Informal.
  1. to intimidate or frighten psychologically, or make nervous (often followed by out): to psych out the competition.
  2. to prepare psychologically to be in the right frame of mind or to give one's best (often followed by up): to psych oneself up for an interview.
  3. to figure out psychologically; decipher (often followed by out): to psych out a problem.
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Origin of psych

1
1915–20 in earlier sense “to subject to psychoanalysis”; originally a shortening of psychoanalyze; in later use (especially indefs 1, 2) perhaps independent use of psych-

psych

2
[sahyk]
noun Informal.
  1. psychology, especially as a course or field of study: She took two semesters of psych in college.
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Origin of psych

2
First recorded in 1890–95; by shortening

psych-

  1. variant of psycho- before some vowels: psychasthenia.
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psych.

  1. psychological.
  2. psychologist.
  3. psychology.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for psych

medicine, attitude, therapy, psyche, mentality, ethos, urge, abet, rouse, arouse, inspire, motivate, exhort, agitate, inflame, encourage, trigger, prompt, provoke, spur

Examples from the Web for psych

Contemporary Examples of psych

Historical Examples of psych

  • He was one of these psych guys that thinks if you say it's so, it makes it so.

    The Hated

    Frederik Pohl

  • Maybe it was that—but I was as confused as a mouse in a psych maze.

    Attrition

    Jim Wannamaker

  • Would you mind if I spent an hour in Psych for reorientation?

    Exploiter's End

    James Causey

  • I felt guilty over not going to Psych, but there just wasn't the time.

    Exploiter's End

    James Causey

  • Bradshaw's psych check certainly hadn't hinted at any instability.

British Dictionary definitions for psych

psych

psyche

verb
  1. (tr) informal to psychoanalyseSee also psych out, psych up
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Word Origin for psych

C20: shortened from psychoanalyse
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for psych

as a noun, short for psychology in various senses (e.g. as an academic study, in student slang by 1895). As a verb, first attested 1917 as "to subject to psychoanalysis," short for psychoanalyze. From 1934 as "to outsmart" (also psych out); from 1963 as "to unnerve." However to psych (oneself) up is from 1972; to be psyched up is attested from 1968.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
psych in Medicine

psych-

pref.
  1. Variant ofpsycho-
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.