psychopathy
Americannoun
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a mental disorder in which an individual manifests 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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any mental disease.
noun
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another name for psychopathic personality
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any mental disorder or disease
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of psychopathy
Explanation
Someone who suffers from a mental illness that makes them violent without any sense of remorse or empathy has psychopathy. Although it's a common term in criminal justice, psychopathy isn't an official psychiatric diagnosis. If someone has psychopathy, they're referred to as a psychopath. As common as these terms are, a psychiatrist or psychologist won't diagnose someone with psychopathy — a patient with these symptoms will likely get a diagnosis of "antisocial personality disorder." A common test measuring psychopathy is used to study prison populations and for sentencing violent criminals. Psychopathy comes from the Greek roots psykhe, "mind," and pathos, "suffering."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dr Asperger is known for his work in child psychiatry and identifying Asperger syndrome, a form of autism, in 1944 - however the term "autistic psychopathy" was used until 1981.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2026
By comparing MRI scans with psychopathy assessment results, the researchers found that a larger striatum was linked to a stronger need for stimulation, including thrill-seeking, excitement, and impulsive behavior.
From Science Daily ● May 10, 2026
The Journal of Psychiatric Research findings added evidence that psychopathy is not shaped only by social and environmental experiences.
From Science Daily ● May 10, 2026
“You get people who are verging on psychopathy and you get people who are just troubled.”
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2025
This is a subject which can hardly be touched in passing: yet the opinion may be recorded that it belongs rather to the science of psychopathy than to the chronicle of vulgar lusts.
From Renaissance in Italy, Volume 1 (of 7) The Age of the Despots by Symonds, John Addington
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
