psych

play

verb \ ˈsīk \

variants: or less commonly psyche

Definition of psych

psyched; psyching

transitive verb

1 :psychoanalyze

2 a :to anticipate correctly the intentions or actions of :outguess

b :to analyze or figure out (something, such as a problem or course of action)

I psyched it all out by myself and decided
—David Hulburd

3 a :to make psychologically uneasy :intimidate, scare

pressure doesn't psych me
—Jerry Quarry

—often used with out

has a way of psyching out the competition

b :to make (someone, such as oneself) psychologically ready especially for performance —often used with up

psyched herself up for the race

See psych defined for English-language learners

See psych defined for kids

Examples of psych in a Sentence

He was trying to psych himself before the race.

Recent Examples of psych from the Web

All those Jon/Daenerys truthers must be psyched (except they're related, if that even matters)!

— dave holmes, Esquire, "Westeros at the Watercooler: Don't Get Too Emotionally Invested in Fantasy Animals," 21 Aug. 2017
For whatever reason, weddings are hugely stressful even if you're psyched.

— andra chantim, Redbook, "The Stars of Bravo's Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce Spill on the New Season," 16 Aug. 2017
Demetrius Johnson shot 88, and he wasn't psyched about it because his best score on the Creek Course is a 75.

— Alaska Dispatch News, "In Alaska golf, a sense of humor helps salve the torture," 4 Aug. 2017
Hilary Duff fans will be psyched to see that the 2004 classic film A Cinderella Story will be available to stream on August 1.

— lindsey lanquist, SELF, "Everything Coming to Netflix in August 2017," 25 July 2017
But screenwriters Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley didn't have the luxury of psyching themselves out.

— aaron couch, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Spider-Man: Homecoming' Writers Had Just 3 Days to Win Over Marvel," 7 July 2017
Such a shellacking would have gotten Safeco psyched up no matter what the circumstance.

— matt calkins, The Seattle Times, "Matt Calkins: What matters more than Felix’s stats is the fact he is back on the mound," 23 June 2017
He's also lined up some fine Chicago DJs to open, and among them, Gossip Wolf is particularly psyched to see Jana Rush.

— leor galil, Chicago Reader, "Rapper Chris Crack breaks a yearlong silence with a single 36-minute track," 20 June 2017
There is always an appetite for nostalgia, so of course we're psyched about the possibility of seeing 52-year-old Shields effortlessly slay a campaign once again for Calvin Klein.

— jihan forbes, Allure, "Brooke Shields and Calvin Klein Reportedly Teaming Up Again," 20 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of psych

by shortening

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1917

See Words from the same year

psych

abbreviation

Definition of psych

psychology

See psych defined for English-language learners

psych-

combining form

variants: or psycho-

Definition of psych-

1 :mind :mental processes and activities

psychodynamic

psychology

2 :psychological methods

psychoanalysis

psychotherapy

3 :brain

psychosurgery

4 :mental and

psychosomatic

Origin and Etymology of psych-

Greek, from psychē breath, principle of life, life, soul, from psychein to breathe; akin to Sanskrit babhasti he blows

PSYCH Defined for English Language Learners

psych

play

verb

Definition of psych for English Language Learners

: to make (yourself or another person) mentally ready to perform or compete

Medical Dictionary

psych

abbreviation

medical Definition of psych

psychology

Learn More about psych

See words that rhyme with psych Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for psych

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psych

Definition of psych

From the M-W Editors

Examples of psych in a Sentence

Recent Examples of psych from the Web

Origin and Etymology of psych

psych

Definition of psych

psych-

Definition of psych-

Origin and Etymology of psych-

PSYCH Defined for English Language Learners

psych

Definition of psych for English Language Learners

Medical Dictionary

psych

medical Definition of psych

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