psychosis

noun

psy·​cho·​sis sī-ˈkō-səs How to pronounce psychosis (audio)
plural psychoses sī-ˈkō-ˌsēz How to pronounce psychosis (audio)
: a serious mental illness (such as schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality often with hallucinations or delusions

Examples of psychosis in a Sentence

The patient suffers from some kind of psychosis.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Lynne Ramsay’s upcoming Die, My Love, starring Jennifer Lawrence as a new mother gripped by a postpartum depression that devolves into psychosis, looks set to expand that canon. Emma Specter, Vogue, 18 Oct. 2025 Elsewhere in the interview, the Oscar winner explained how her role as Grace alongside Pattinson's Jackson came about in the psychological drama, which is an adaptation of Ariana Harwicz’s 2017 novel about a new mother who develops postpartum depression and enters psychosis. Becca Longmire, PEOPLE, 17 Oct. 2025 Her client is suffering from severe postpartum depression, having a psychosis! Stephen Schaefer, Boston Herald, 15 Oct. 2025 Linda’s unraveling escalates when her troubled client Caroline (Danielle Macdonald) emails her a video of Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who drowned her five children in 2001 after developing postpartum psychosis. Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 10 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for psychosis

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1847, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of psychosis was in 1847

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Psychosis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychosis. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

psychosis

noun
psy·​cho·​sis sī-ˈkō-səs How to pronounce psychosis (audio)
plural psychoses -ˈkō-ˌsēz How to pronounce psychosis (audio)
: a serious mental illness marked by loss of or greatly lessened ability to test whether what one is thinking and feeling about the real world is really true

Medical Definition

psychosis

noun
psy·​cho·​sis sī-ˈkō-səs How to pronounce psychosis (audio)
plural psychoses -ˌsēz How to pronounce psychosis (audio)
: a serious mental illness (as schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality often with hallucinations or delusions
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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