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

As the writer and the actor spend time together, and the narrator tries to pry open some small window into M’s psyche, the process of gathering material is constantly being thwarted by M’s casual instructability.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

"It shapes your psyche and moulds your motivation to fight, so that in critical situations, you know you are capable of something more", said Karyi.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

"Psychedelic means 'psyche-revealing,' or making the psyche visible," said senior author Robin Carhart-Harris, PhD, the Ralph Metzner Distinguished Professor of Neurology at UCSF.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026

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

But still, those images were seared permanently into his psyche.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

The maneuver placed Psyche on the trajectory needed to reach its metal-rich target in the main asteroid belt.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

"The imager performed brilliantly, delivering some rarely seen views of the Red Planet," said Jim Bell, the Psyche imager instrument lead at Arizona State University in Tempe.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

At asteroid Psyche, the instrument will help scientists identify the chemical elements present in the object's surface material.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026

The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at asteroid Psyche in August 2029.

From Science Daily ● May 26, 2026

The story of Psyche finally made sense to him—why a mortal girl would be so afraid.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

If you’re anything like me, you’re psyched for Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, an adaptation of Homer’s epic poem.

From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026

His father said that his son would have been "absolutely psyched" that the company's new laboratory was being named in his honour.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

In fact, it’s virtually impossible to tell whether he’s more psyched about “Slow Horses” or being knighted.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2025

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2025

Leo psyched himself up for an extreme makeover.

From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan

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

“When I look at a combination of attributes of a player, I think Micah has no problem psyching himself up to a rage,” Jones said.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 20, 2023

“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

The "chess" of Antigua and Barbuda is a mind sport, psyching out one's opponent is as critical as choosing one's next move.

From BBC ● May 3, 2021

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