sociopath
Americannoun
-
sociopaths
plural
noun
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Etymology
Origin of sociopath
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How does sociopath compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A sociopath is a person with a mental illness that manifests in extremely antisocial behavior and the inability to distinguish right from wrong. You're probably right to be afraid of a sociopath. Pathology means illness, and so socio- pathology means social illness. If someone is a sociopath, that means that they have a social sickness––they lack the ability to be social. Many movies and TV crime shows feature plots involving sociopaths, but hopefully the TV is the only place you ever encounter sociopaths.
Vocabulary lists containing sociopath
Common Senses: Path ("Feeling")
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Frankenwords: Words with Roots from Different Languages
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We the People: Soc
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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.
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Why not plant a high-functioning sociopath as a teacher in a building full of obnoxious, attitudinal, hormonal basket cases?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
"All but one of the characters is a sociopath, so the movie works on almost no levels. I love to put it on and yell at it."
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2025
It is, unfortunately, the heyday of the harmful sociopath and the abusive clinical narcissist.
From Salon ● Feb. 12, 2025
Jolie won a supporting Oscar in 2000 for her performance as a charismatic sociopath in “Girl, Interrupted,” capping an extraordinary awards run from …
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2024
Incidentally, Malcolm also thought that Matthew was a sociopath.
From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson
One of the theater’s more prominent sociopaths gets a makeover in “Hedda,” director Nia DaCosta’s reimagining of “Hedda Gabler,” with an approach that opens up the play—and an interpretive can of worms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
First, people who are that good at sizing up strangers are either sociopaths or survivors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 24, 2024
But sociopaths do exist—and in American society they become billionaires.
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2024
It's just his special flourish to imagine the secret leaders are cat-loving, child-hating sociopaths.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2024
I’ve heard about sociopaths, people who connect with no one but themselves and their own self-interests.
From "The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
