mind game
nounDefinition of mind game
: a psychological tactic used to manipulate or intimidate —usually used in plural played mind games with his opponent
Examples of mind game in a Sentence
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Shin made the extraordinary comment ahead of the Koreans’ clash with Sweden in their first game in Group F on Monday night and will also face Germany and Mexico next week, with their opener having been overshadowed by mind games between the teams. — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, "South Korea mixed up jersey numbers because Westerners can't 'distinguish between Asians'," 18 June 2018 As each England kicker approached the spot, Pickford would go out to greet them, handing them the ball personally, a useful tool in preventing any mind games from the wily veteran Ospina. — Martin Rogers, USA TODAY, "World Cup penalty shootouts have nothing to do with luck," 5 July 2018 These kinds of questions add an extra layer of mind games on top of the base layer of psych-out positioning and reflexes already inherent in the basic Mario Tennis package. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Mario Tennis Aces review: Turning tennis into a fighting game," 22 June 2018 Many of its tools of subversion date to the early days of the Absurdists and the mind games of Pirandello and Ionesco, while others — more technologically sophisticated — are staples of the contemporary European avant-garde. — Ben Brantley, New York Times, "Review: Theater as Sabotage in the Dazzling ‘Fairview’," 17 June 2018 Your options are: the magicians, who are masters of illusion; the mentalists, who spin a web of gripping mind games; or the scientists, who are creating cutting-edge technology. — Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, WSJ, "Which Stephen King Novels Are You Most Likely to Like? A New App Will Tell You," 12 June 2018 Soccer's weird tiebreaker is a mix of skill, luck, mind games, and heartbreak. — Allen St. John, Popular Mechanics, "The Physics and Mind Games of a World Cup Penalty Kick," 6 June 2018 Here are five memorable places to play mind games with your kids, no matter the occasion: Looking for something a bit more accessible? — Chris Erskine, latimes.com, "Geek out with your grad at these high-minded museums and events," 30 May 2018 But Ream also has a history of mind games, toying with investigators in a game of cat and mouse. — Elisha Anderson, Detroit Free Press, "Suspected serial killer wants an apology from Warren police," 21 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mind game.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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