psychosis

noun

psy·​cho·​sis sī-ˈkō-səs 

plural psychoses sī-ˈkō-ˌsēz 

: a serious mental illness (such as schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality often with hallucinations or delusions

Examples of psychosis in a Sentence

The patient suffers from some kind of psychosis.

Recent Examples on the Web

Defense attorney Kevin Reddington said Clancy was not criminally responsible because she was overmedicated and suffering from postpartum psychosis. — Penny Kmitt, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026

The notes from his stump speech that draw the loudest applause can drive the neutral observer to mild psychosis. — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 30 Oct. 2026

Acute harms, such as psychosis or suicide reportedly linked to specific chatbot interactions, are easier to identify and respond to than harms that build over months and years. — Ned Cooper, STAT, 26 Oct. 2026

Even before the Clancy trial began, the forensic psychiatrist Susan Hatters-Friedman pointed out to me how quickly the discourse around the case had turned to postpartum psychosis, a rare disorder that affects about one in a thousand new mothers. — Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for psychosis

• cirrhosis
• fibrosis
• gliosis
• hypnosis
• ichthyosis
• ketosis
• kurtosis
• lordosis
• meiosis
• miosis
• mitosis
• mycosis

Kids Definition

psychosis

noun

psy·​cho·​sis sī-ˈkō-səs 

plural psychoses -ˈkō-ˌsēz 

: a serious mental illness marked by loss of or greatly lessened ability to test whether what one is thinking and feeling about the real world is really true

Medical Definition

psychosis

noun

psy·​cho·​sis sī-ˈkō-səs 

plural psychoses -ˌsēz 

: a serious mental illness (as schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality often with hallucinations or delusions