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psychopath

[ sahy-kuh-path ]

/ ˈsaɪ kəˌpæθ /

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noun

a person with a psychopathic personality, which manifests as amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, etc.

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VIDEO FOR PSYCHOPATH

What Is The Difference Between "Psychopath" vs. "Sociopath"?

Despite all the confusion around the terms psychopath and sociopath, is there actually a difference? Let us explain!

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Compare sociopath.

Origin of psychopath

First recorded in 1880–85; psycho- + -path

Words nearby psychopath

psychomotor epilepsy, psychomotor retardation, psychoneuroimmunology, psychoneurosis, psychoneurotic, psychopath, psychopathic, psychopathic disorder, psychopathic personality, psychopathology, psychopathy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use psychopath in a sentence

Its newer persona suggests a softer side, a demon looking creature but finally not a psychopath, merely a misunderstood everyman with feathers.
T. Rex Was a Slacker - Issue 102: Hidden Truths|Mark MacNamara|July 7, 2021|Nautilus
It’s the kind of TV Patrick Bateman from American Psycho would have if he were just a normal rich guy and not a murderous psychopath.
How to pick the right TV to buy on Prime Day|Billy Cadden|June 21, 2021|Popular-Science
In April 2007, after a solid 34-year run in prison — back when noted psychopaths were a slight exception to the three-decade limit — Filho was released for the first time.
This Brazilian Dexter Loves Killing Killers|Leslie dela Vega|February 8, 2021|Ozy
With very little information, people can guess at rates above chance whether someone is a psychopath.
Why We Judge People Based on Their Relatives - Facts So Romantic|Diana Fleischman|November 11, 2020|Nautilus

We both had maybe a little bit of a twisted interest in psychopaths, dictators — psychopaths of all stripes.
“People want to believe”: How Love Fraud builds an absorbing docuseries around a romantic con man|Alissa Wilkinson|September 4, 2020|Vox
In rambling posts, he called himself a loser, and wrote that he must be either bipolar or a psychopath.
School Shooters Love This Pickup Artist Website|Brandy Zadrozny|December 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For urgent enquiries, or indeed any enquiries, please contact someone who is not an insane psychopath.
Hong Kong’s High-Flying British Psycho Killer Suspect|Nico Hines, Tom Sykes|November 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In his late 20s, Cumming confronted his father about his abuse; in response, his father insisted, “I am not a psychopath.”
Alan Cumming: The Truth About My Father|Tim Teeman|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Dude looks just like Richie Cunningham—Sunday, Monday—Psychopath!
One Man 'Breaking Bad' Kills on Stage|Nico Hines|August 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Game of Thrones had an overly sensual libertine while House of Cards had a manipulative psychopath.
It Ain't Easy Being Bisexual on TV|Amy Zimmerman|August 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He barely rated above average on the corporate psychopath meter.
Makers|Cory Doctorow
For an accusation of physical coercion and threat of rape would be far less convincing from a psychopath.
The Trial of Callista Blake|Edgar Pangborn

British Dictionary definitions for psychopath

psychopath

/ (ˈsaɪkəʊˌpæθ) /

noun

a person afflicted with a personality disorder characterized by a tendency to commit antisocial and sometimes violent acts and a failure to feel guilt for such actsAlso called: sociopath

Derived forms of psychopath

psychopathic, adjectivepsychopathically, adverb

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

Cultural definitions for psychopath

psychopath

[ (seye-kuh-path) ]

A mentally unbalanced person who is inclined toward antisocial and criminal behavior. (Compare sociopath.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.