psychoactive

adjective

psy·​cho·​ac·​tive ˌsī-kō-ˈak-tiv 

: affecting the mind or behavior

psychoactive drugs

Examples of psychoactive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Meanwhile, pharmaceutical companies are trying to develop an oral version of noribogaine, ibogaine’s primary metabolite, and other companies are working on non-psychoactive derivatives. — Michelle Lhooq, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026

Companies are synthetically concentrating the psychoactive compound found in kratom leaves into various products sold as dietary aids in gas stations and smoke shops. — Don Sweeney, Sacbee.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Separate accounts from Siberia described nomadic herders using fly agaric in shamanic ceremonies, taking pains to prolong its psychoactive effects. — Kimon De Greef, Longreads, 4 Aug. 2026

Australia’s national regulatory authority for medicines, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), rescheduled both MDMA and psilocybin, the psychoactive ingredient within magic mushrooms, to Schedule 8 of the Poisons Standard. — Literary Hub, 29 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing psychoactive

• non-psychoactive

Rhymes for psychoactive

• attractive
• contractive
• extractive
• inactive
• proactive
• reactive
• refractive
• subtractive
• active
• tractive
• bioactive
• hyperactive

Kids Definition

psychoactive

adjective

psy·​cho·​ac·​tive ˌsī-kō-ˈak-tiv 

: affecting the mind or behavior

psychoactive drugs

Medical Definition

psychoactive

adjective

psy·​cho·​ac·​tive ˌsī-kō-ˈak-tiv 

: affecting the mind or behavior

psychoactive drugs

THC is the principal psychoactive ingredient in marijuana