psyche

noun

psy·​che ˈsī-kē 

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)

specifically, in Freudian psychoanalytic theory : the id, ego, and superego including both conscious and unconscious components

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.

Synonyms of psyche

• soul
• spirit

Examples of psyche in a Sentence

some hidden corner within your psyche

disturbing, enigmatic paintings that seem to embody the psyche of this brilliant but troubled artist

Recent Examples on the Web

Using his abilities from the back of the chopper, Hallorann enters a trance, becoming increasingly distressed until his reality is fractured and the sequence cuts between the helicopter in the sky and a dark realm that Hallorann navigates within his own psyche. —Andrew McGowan, Variety, 10 Nov. 2025

The global success of Bluey, Australia’s largest cultural export, has put Brisbane squarely on the family travel map, while the countdown to the 2032 Olympics is already reshaping the city’s skyline and psyche. —Alli Forde, Travel + Leisure, 6 Nov. 2025

Although inflation – the rate of those price hikes – has since returned to normal, those higher prices haven’t really had time to settle into the country’s psyche. —David Goldman, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025

Lynne Ramsay has taken all of her films — confrontational tone poems generally revolving around one individual’s fissuring psyche — to Cannes. —Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 5 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from Greek psychē soul

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for psyche

• nike
• spiky

Kids Definition

psyche

noun

psy·​che ˈsī-kē 

1

: soul entry 1 sense 2, self

2

: mind entry 1 sense 2

Medical Definition

psyche

noun

psy·​che ˈsī-(ˌ)kē 

: the specialized cognitive, conative, and affective aspects of a psychosomatic unity : mind

specifically : the totality of the id, ego, and superego including both conscious and unconscious components