antisocial personality disorder

noun

Updated on: 16 May 2018

Definition of antisocial personality disorder

Recent Examples of antisocial personality disorder from the Web

Ballenger concluded that Jesse was at high risk for developing antisocial personality disorder, often called sociopathy, which cannot be diagnosed before age 18.

— john woodrow cox, Washington Post, "Inside an accused school shooter’s mind: A plot to kill ‘50 or 60. If I get lucky maybe 150.’," 3 Mar. 2018
Ballenger concluded that Jesse was at high risk for developing antisocial personality disorder, often called sociopathy, which cannot be diagnosed before age 18.

— john woodrow cox, Washington Post, "Inside an accused school shooter’s mind: A plot to kill ‘50 or 60. If I get lucky maybe 150.’," 3 Mar. 2018
Ballenger concluded that Jesse was at high risk for developing antisocial personality disorder, often called sociopathy, which cannot be diagnosed before age 18.

— john woodrow cox, Washington Post, "Inside an accused school shooter’s mind: A plot to kill ‘50 or 60. If I get lucky maybe 150.’," 3 Mar. 2018
Ballenger concluded that Jesse was at high risk for developing antisocial personality disorder, often called sociopathy, which cannot be diagnosed before age 18.

— john woodrow cox, Washington Post, "Inside an accused school shooter’s mind: A plot to kill ‘50 or 60. If I get lucky maybe 150.’," 3 Mar. 2018
Ballenger concluded that Jesse was at high risk for developing antisocial personality disorder, often called sociopathy, which cannot be diagnosed before age 18.

— john woodrow cox, Washington Post, "Inside an accused school shooter’s mind: A plot to kill ‘50 or 60. If I get lucky maybe 150.’," 3 Mar. 2018
Other situations, when a person could be a risk of harm to others, are personality disorders with a high level of impulsivity or lack of remorse, such as antisocial personality disorder.

— arash javanbakht, CBS News, "Guns and mental illness: How do you judge who shouldn't get weapons?," 1 Mar. 2018
Years later, he was diagnosed with major depression and borderline antisocial personality disorder, his family said, and more recently, post-traumatic stress disorder, illnesses that often go hand-in-hand with substance misuse.

— katharine q. seelye photographs by todd heisler, New York Times, "1 Son, 4 Overdoses, 6 Hours," 21 Jan. 2018
Ballenger concluded that Jesse was at high risk for developing antisocial personality disorder, often called sociopathy, which cannot be diagnosed before age 18.

— author: john woodrow cox, Anchorage Daily News, "“I’ll probably most likely kill around 50 or 60.” Inside the mind of a teen school shooter.," 4 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'antisocial personality disorder.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of antisocial personality disorder

1967

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Medical Dictionary

antisocial personality disorder

noun

medical Definition of antisocial personality disorder

: a personality disorder that is characterized by antisocial behavior exhibiting pervasive disregard for and violation of the rights, feelings, and safety of others starting in childhood or the early teenage years and continuing into adulthood, that is often marked by a lack of remorse for having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from others, and that in practice is often difficult to diagnose because it is confounded with disorders in which drug addiction or substance abuse is a factor — called also psychopathic personality disorder