schizophrenia

American  

[skit-suh-free-nee-uh, -freen-yuh] / ˌskɪt səˈfri ni ə, -ˈfrin jə /

noun

schizophrenias plural

1. Formerly dementia praecox.  Psychiatry. a spectrum of mental disorders characterized by emotional blunting, intellectual deterioration, social isolation, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, hallucinations, or a combination of any of these symptoms.

2. Sometimes Offensive. a state characterized by the coexistence of contradictory or incompatible elements.

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schizophrenia British  

/ ˌskɪtsəʊˈfriːnɪə /

noun

1. any of a group of psychotic disorders characterized by progressive deterioration of the personality, withdrawal from reality, hallucinations, delusions, social apathy, emotional instability, etc See catatonia hebephrenia paranoia

2. informal behaviour that appears to be motivated by contradictory or conflicting principles

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schizophrenia Scientific  

/ skĭt′sə-frē′nē-ə,skĭt′sə- /

1. Any of a group of psychiatric disorders characterized by withdrawal from reality, illogical patterns of thinking, delusions, hallucinations, and psychotic behavior. Schizophrenia is associated with an imbalance of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain and may have an underlying genetic cause.

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schizophrenia Cultural  

1. A form of psychosis marked by a strong tendency to dissociate oneself from reality. Schizophrenia is often characterized by hallucinations, delusions, and inappropriate reactions to situations. The word schizophrenia is often used informally as well as scientifically to indicate a split personality.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonschizophrenic
  adjective
• schizophrenic
  adjective
• unschizophrenic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• schizophrenias
  plural

Etymology

Origin of schizophrenia

First recorded in 1910–15; schizo- + -phrenia

Compare meaning

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

• schizoid vs. schizophrenia

Explanation

Someone with a mental illness that's caused them to lose touch with reality and to withdraw from society may end up being diagnosed with schizophrenia, a serious disorder that can usually be treated with medication. A Swiss psychiatrist first came up with the term Schizophrenie, or "a splitting of the mind," to refer to the mental illness in 1910. A person with schizophrenia may feel and behave as if his mind has split off from reality, as he perceives things in a distorted way, and often speaks and acts in ways that appear bizarre. Sometimes schizophrenia is used to mean "inconsistent or contradictory."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

schizophrenia schizophrenias

We now know that additional neurotransmitters are involved in schizophrenia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

“He’s very sick and very mentally ill,” his half-sister said, noting that he suffered from schizophrenia but refused to take his medication.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

Calocane, who had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia before he fatally attacked Barnaby Webber, Grace O'Malley-Kumar and Ian Coates in June 2023, was previously sectioned by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

"It's more dangerous to accept the supernatural explanations," he warned, noting that conditions ranging from schizophrenia to Tourette's syndrome were once interpreted as spirit possession.

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

Several decades of mental health have not made schizophrenia go away, nor has it been established that a community mental-health center can yet maintain the mental health of a community.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

What are some of the stigmas the schizophrenias have, even within the world of mental illness?

From The Verge ● Feb. 11, 2019

Listen to people who live with the schizophrenias.

From The Verge ● Feb. 11, 2019

He defined the disorder as a slow- developing illness without the hallucinations that are a classic element in the Western definition of many schizophrenias.

From Time Magazine Archive