psychosis

American  

[sahy-koh-sis] / saɪˈkoʊ sɪs /

noun

Psychiatry.

• psychoses
  plural

1. a mental disorder characterized by symptoms, such as delusions or hallucinations, that indicate impaired contact with reality.

2. any severe form of mental disorder, as schizophrenia or paranoia.

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psychosis British  

/ saɪˈkəʊsɪs /

noun

1. any form of severe mental disorder in which the individual's contact with reality becomes highly distorted Compare neurosis

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psychosis Scientific  

/ sī-kō′sĭs /

• psychoses
  plural

1. A mental state caused by psychiatric or organic illness, characterized by a loss of contact with reality and an inability to think rationally. A psychotic person often behaves inappropriately and is incapable of normal social functioning.

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psychosis Cultural  

1. A severe mental disorder, more serious than neurosis, characterized by disorganized thought processes, disorientation in time and space, hallucinations, and delusions. Paranoia, manic depression, megalomania, and schizophrenia are all psychoses. One who suffers from psychosis is psychotic.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• psychoses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of psychosis

First recorded in 1840–50, psychosis is from the Late Greek word psȳ́chōsis animation, principle of life. See psych-, -osis

Compare meaning

How does psychosis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• neurosis vs. psychosis

Explanation

If your Uncle Marvin starts talking to his furniture and sewing his own clothes out of newspapers, he may be suffering from psychosis, which is a serious psychiatric illness in which a person loses touch with reality. The Greek psykhe, or "mind" combines with the Latin suffix -osis, "abnormal condition," to form the word psychosis. An "abnormal condition of the mind" sounds like it could describe a lot of mental conditions, and in fact psychosis is a broad term that covers many different disorders. The symptom that those who suffer from psychosis have in common is that they don't experience reality in the same way that most people do; they may hallucinate, or see and hear things that aren't really there.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

psychosis psychoses

Clancy's team said she had postpartum psychosis, a rare condition in which postpartum women can experience mania, depression or a mixture of both.

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

I mean: measles, food contamination, wars, Michael Cohen, climate, education, immigration, healthcare and post partum psychosis is more than enough.

From Salon ● Sep. 18, 2026

Current laws set the bar so high for involuntary hospitalization that a person in psychosis often has to be suicidal or homicidal before they can get the help they need.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Postpartum psychosis, as Clancy says she experienced, is rare.

From Slate ● Sep. 5, 2026

The crowding, poor nutrition, and lack of hygiene made disease rampant; from typhus to scarlet fever, from malnutrition to psychosis, illness of some kind struck nearly every family.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Psychiatrists and neurologists are increasingly joining forces to find and treat patients with autoimmune psychoses.

From Science Magazine ● May 15, 2024

He urged lawmakers to try again next year, this time adding specific treatment guidelines including recommended doses and protections for people with underlying psychoses.

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2023

And so there is an emphasis on complicated arrangements and psychoses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2023

“I wish my psychoses were softer,” she said.

From New York Times ● Aug. 5, 2022

He also devoted a chapter to the psychoses of four chess masters, selected from the millions of normal people who’d played seriously over the years.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• absurdity
• alienation
• craziness
• folly
• frenzy
• hysteria
• irresponsibility
• lunacy
• madness
• mental disorder