variants
or less commonly psyche
psyched; psyching
1
2
a
: to anticipate correctly the intentions or actions of : outguess
b
: to analyze or figure out (something, such as a problem or course of action)
… I psyched it all out by myself and decided …—David Hulburd
3
a
: to make psychologically uneasy : intimidate, scare
… pressure doesn't psych me …—Jerry Quarry
—often used with outhas a way of psyching out the competition
b
: to make (someone, such as oneself) psychologically ready especially for performance
—often used with up
psyched herself up for the race
variants
or psycho-
1
: mind : mental processes and activities
psychodynamic
psychology
2
: psychological methods
psychoanalysis
psychotherapy
3
: brain
psychosurgery
4
: mental and
psychosomatic
1
Psyche
: a princess loved by Cupid
2
[Greek psychē]
a
: soul, personality
… the nation's consumer psyche.—D. J. Kevles
b
: the totality of elements forming the mind (see mind entry 1 sense 2)
Did you know?
Sometime back in the 16th century, we borrowed the word psyche directly from Greek into English. In Greek mythology, Psyche was a beautiful princess who fell in love with Eros (Cupid), god of love, and went through terrible trials before being allowed to marry him. The story is often understood to be about the soul redeeming itself through love. (To the Greeks, psyche also meant "butterfly", which suggests how they imagined the soul.) In English, psyche often sounds less spiritual than soul, less intellectual than mind, and more private than personality.
Cite this Entry
“Psych.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psych. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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