psychopathic

adjective psy·cho·path·ic \ ˌsī-kə-ˈpa-thik \

|Updated on: 29 May 2018

Definition of psychopathic

: of, relating to, or characterized by psychopathy or antisocial personality disorder

—

psychopathically

play \ˌsī-kə-ˈpa-thi-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

Recent Examples of psychopathic from the Web

Today, people might say such children exhibited psychopathic or sociopathic traits.

— Longreads, "Born Again," 1 May 2018
This '90s cult favorite gave us a young Ben Stiller as a psychopathic fitness junkie at a camp for overweight kids.

— stacey grant, Seventeen, "12 Best Comedy Movies to Binge-Watch on Netflix RN," 18 Aug. 2017
Dorothy’s son and husband (whose ear Jeffrey has found) are being held hostage by a psychopathic gangster, Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper).

— tara isabella burton, Vox, "Great movies about faith are hard to come by. Enter Blue Velvet.," 5 Apr. 2018
Particularly so is the presence of Melquarth Frost, King’s criminal sidekick with psychopathic tendencies.

— michael berry, San Antonio Express-News, "Book Down the River 0318," 14 Mar. 2018
Chigurh's outfit, on display from the 2007 movie, brings to life the psychopathic murderer determined to find millions of dollars left over from a drug deal gone wrong.

— domenica bongiovanni, Indianapolis Star, "See Django's hat, 'Brokeback Mountain' shirts and other props at Western film exhibit," 8 Mar. 2018
Being a murderous, psychopathic parent is scarcely less so.

— michael phillips, chicagotribune.com, "'Mom and Dad' review: Nic Cage, Selma Blair play parents with an ax to grind," 18 Jan. 2018
Still stuck in the Mirror Universe, Burnan, Tyler, and Lorca remain incognito aboard the ISS Shenzhou, the psychopathic version of the ship that blew up in the show’s opening two episodes.

— darren orf, Popular Mechanics, "'Star Trek: Discovery' Feels Increasingly More Comfortable In a Universe of Killers," 15 Jan. 2018
Jodie Comer plays an elegant, talented psychopathic assassin who also happens to be obsessed with Sandra Oh’s Eve, the unchallenged security service operative who in turn becomes obsessed with finding her.

— whitney friedlander, Marie Claire, "13 New TV Shows with Well-Written Women to Watch in 2018," 10 Jan. 2018

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