Showing results for "psyche"

• a variation of psych.

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• psyche
  psyche

  verb (used with object)

  a variant of psych.
• Psyche
  Psyche

  noun

  a personification of the soul, which in the form of a beautiful girl was loved by Eros.

psyche

¹ American  

[sahyk] / saɪk /

verb (used with object)

psyched, psyching

1. a variant of psych.

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Psyche ² American  

[sahy-kee] / ˈsaɪ ki /

noun

1. Classical Mythology. a personification of the soul, which in the form of a beautiful girl was loved by Eros.

2. psyche,

   1. the human soul, spirit, or mind.

   2. Psychology, Psychoanalysis. the mental or psychological structure of a person, especially as a motive force.

3. Philosophy. (inNeoplatonism ) the second emanation of the One, regarded as a universal consciousness and as the animating principle of the world.

4. a female given name.

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Psyche ¹ British  

/ ˈsaɪkɪ /

noun

1. Greek myth a beautiful girl loved by Eros (Cupid), who became the personification of the soul

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psyche ² British  

/ ˈsaɪkɪ /

noun

1. the human mind or soul

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Psyche ¹ Cultural  

1. In Roman mythology, a beautiful girl who was visited each night in the dark by Cupid, who told her she must not try to see him. When she did try, while he was asleep, she accidentally dropped oil from her lamp on him, and he awoke and fled. After she had performed many harsh tasks set by Cupid's mother, Venus, Jupiter made her immortal, and she and Cupid were married. Her name is Greek for both “soul” and “butterfly.”

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psyche ² Cultural  

1. The mind, soul, or spirit, as opposed to the body. In psychology, the psyche is the center of thought, feeling, and motivation, consciously and unconsciously directing the body's reactions to its social and physical environment.

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Etymology

Origin of Psyche

First recorded in 1650–60 Psyche for def. 2a; from Latin psȳchē, from Greek psȳchḗ literally, “breath,” derivative of psȳ́chein “to breathe, blow,” hence, “live” ( see psycho-)

Explanation

Another word for the place where your thoughts come from is your psyche. Not your actual brain, but whatever it is that generates all of your thoughts and emotions. Psyche comes from the Greek psykhe, which means “the soul, mind, spirit, or invisible animating entity which occupies the physical body.” That about sums the way we understand the word today. People have their own individual psyches of course, but you often hear the word used to describe the similar mind set or thought process of a group of people, such as "the American psyche."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

psyche Psyche psyched psyching

But the biggest obstacle might just be the psychological hold that Mexico has on English soccer’s collective psyche.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

This show, also named “Disneyland,” was so compelling that nearly half of the country tuned in weekly, cementing the park, films and characters in America’s collective psyche.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

That possibility has taken over the city's psyche.

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026

L.A. was where he had come of age, and it remained an indelible part of his life and psyche — not least in terms of its egalitarian spirit and its tendency toward the horizontal.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 12, 2026

And to think: these people specialize in the analysis and understanding of the human psyche.

From "Paper Towns" by John Green

Once it arrives, the spacecraft will orbit Psyche at several different altitudes while mapping the surface and collecting scientific data.

From Science Daily ● May 26, 2026

As Psyche approached Mars, the planet appeared as a narrow crescent because of the angle between the spacecraft, Mars, and the Sun.

From Science Daily ● May 26, 2026

During that adjustment, Psyche fired its thrusters for 12 hours to fine-tune its course and slightly increase its speed before reaching Mars.

From Science Daily ● May 11, 2026

Instead of relying entirely on its thrusters, mission planners are taking advantage of Mars' gravitational pull to help guide the spacecraft toward its final destination, the unusual metallic asteroid Psyche.

From Science Daily ● May 11, 2026

Mercury brought Psyche into the palace of the gods, and Jupiter himself gave her the ambrosia to taste which made her immortal.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Netflix is so psyched about generative software that it’s spent the year acquiring an A.I. production studio, launching a different studio for A.I.-animated shorts, and re-creating Gene Wilder’s voice for a Willy Wonka–themed game show.

From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026

The Knicks are psyched about having support on the road.

From MarketWatch ● May 8, 2026

The SNL actor said his hosts were "psyched" he wore a kilt and he "had the best dinner ever".

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025

“We’re psyched for five more years with our fans.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2025

“That evening,” recalled his tent-mate Charlotte Fox, “I couldn’t tell that Scott might have been sick. He was acting like Mr. Gung Ho, getting everyone psyched up like a football coach before the big game.”

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Of course, there are limits to taking a Panglossian attitude and psyching ourselves up in the face of challenges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

“He’s not thinking. We came in together and you can be worried about your future a little bit, what’s going to happen. You start psyching yourself out. I think he’s just playing free.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2021

“Every day I get into my car, every day I decide to step out of my house, it’s a psyching up that I have to do to myself,” Ourlicht said.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2020

I have to spend hours psyching myself up before I call, and it’s like talking to a stranger.

From Slate ● Mar. 14, 2019

This evening will be the music contest as well as the visual arts contest, so a lot of kids have guitars and the people in bands are all horsing around, psyching themselves up.

From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• ego
• mind
• soul
• spirit
• subconscious