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Synonyms

sociopath

American  
[soh-see-uh-path, soh-shee-] / ˈsoʊ si əˌpæθ, ˈsoʊ ʃi- /

noun

Psychiatry.

  1. a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

sociopath British  
/ ˌsəʊsɪˈɒpəθɪ, ˈsəʊsɪəˌpæθ /

noun

  1. psychiatry another name for psychopath

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sociopath Cultural  

  1. Someone whose social behavior is extremely abnormal. Sociopaths are interested only in their personal needs and desires, without concern for the effects of their behavior on others. (Compare psychopath.)

Other Word Forms

  • sociopathic adjective
  • sociopathy noun

Etymology

Origin of sociopath

First recorded in 1940–45; socio- + -path

Compare meaning

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.

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Vocabulary lists containing sociopath

Common Senses: Path ("Feeling")

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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.

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

“For over three years, Anna’s family and friends have waited for justice. Today the jury has spoken, returned its guilty verdict for first-degree murder against this sociopath and justice has arrived,” Los Angeles County Dist.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

It is, unfortunately, the heyday of the harmful sociopath and the abusive clinical narcissist.

From Salon • Feb. 12, 2025

She laughs and jokes that "I'd be like, 'Oh no I found a sociopath'".

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2025

Incidentally, Malcolm also thought that Matthew was a sociopath.

From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson

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.