psychopath

[sahy-kuh-path]

noun

1. 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.

psychopath

/ ˈsaɪkəʊˌpæθ /

noun

1. Also called: sociopath. 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 acts

psychopath

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

Other Word Forms

• psychopathic adjective
• psychopathically adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of psychopath¹

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

Example Sentences

People paying their respects at the memorial were taken aback, with one commenting that, even in Utah, “there are some psychopaths.”

From Los Angeles Times

“Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country! That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends. Be careful, we’re watching you!”

From Los Angeles Times

“Either I am a psychopath in sheep’s clothing, or I am you.”

From Salon

In a court filing last month, the former sheriff disputed an assessment by a county-hired expert psychiatrist that described him as having “many attributes of a ‘white-collar psychopath.’

From Los Angeles Times

The operator was "notorious in the squadron, he genuinely seemed like a psychopath," the former colleague added.

From BBC

Related Words

• lunatic 
• maniac 
• psycho 
• sociopath