psychotic
adjective
psy·chot·ic
sī-ˈkä-tik 
1
medical
: of, relating to, marked by, or affected with psychosis
a psychotic patient
psychotic behavior
2
sometimes offensive
: exhibiting or suggestive of mental or emotional unsoundness or instability
—not used technically
Note: The nontechnical use of psychotic is increasingly viewed as a trivialization of mental illness.
psychotic
noun
plural psychotics
Synonyms of psychotic
Examples of psychotic in a Sentence
He was diagnosed as psychotic.
a psychotic patient who was recently admitted
Recent Examples on the Web
The drugs brought on psychotic episodes that were destructive, and when his son was about 20, the family made the difficult decision to ask Sean to leave the house.
—
Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 20 June 2026
In the second episode, Tom spends a night in the local inn, and ends up in a crawl space with the ghost of a psychotic killer clown.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 18 June 2026
The film follows a desperate mother struggling with her teenage son’s psychotic disorder.
—Ed Meza, Variety, 15 June 2026
In that setting, every user will be screened for cardiac issues and a family history of psychosis, and guided through their trip by two professional facilitators who have a doctor on call—and even then, some users experience a psychotic break or profound dissociative episodes.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for psychotic
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Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 20 June 2026
In the second episode, Tom spends a night in the local inn, and ends up in a crawl space with the ghost of a psychotic killer clown.
—Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 18 June 2026
The film follows a desperate mother struggling with her teenage son’s psychotic disorder.
—Ed Meza, Variety, 15 June 2026
In that setting, every user will be screened for cardiac issues and a family history of psychosis, and guided through their trip by two professional facilitators who have a doctor on call—and even then, some users experience a psychotic break or profound dissociative episodes.
—Ross Andersen, The Atlantic, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for psychotic
Cite this Entry
“Psychotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychotic. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
psychotic
1 of 2 adjective
psy·chot·ic
sī-ˈkät-ik
: of, relating to, marked by, or affected with psychosis
psychotic
2 of 2 noun
: a psychotic individual
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