psychosis

noun psy·cho·sis \ sī-ˈkō-səs \

Definition of psychosis

plural psychoses play \-ˌsēz\

:a serious mental illness (such as schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality often with hallucinations or delusions

See psychosis defined for English-language learners

See psychosis defined for kids

Examples of psychosis in a Sentence

The patient suffers from some kind of psychosis.

Recent Examples of psychosis from the Web

O’Hara argued during the trial that her client had slipped into a state of psychosis the day of the shooting and wasn’t aware of his actions being legally or morally wrong.

— hannah fry, Daily Pilot, "Retired barber was sane when he killed Newport Beach urologist, jury finds," 28 Aug. 2017
Hallucinations tend to be associated with psychosis, but the reality is more complicated than that.

— cathleen o'grady, Ars Technica, "Hearing voices? You might just be primed for it," 27 Aug. 2017
Of course there was plenty of that famed Millennial Pink, from the peachy-pink banquettes at Little Octopus in Nashville to floor-to-ceiling pink psychosis at Pietro Nolita in NYC.

— julia kramer, Bon Appetit, "The Restaurant Interior Trend We’re Totally On Board With," 15 Aug. 2017
Thornton's mother Eleanor Chapman testified that her daughter's mental illness manifested before 2010, when she was civilly committed for the first time and diagnosed as being bipolar, schizophrenic and suffering bouts of psychosis.

— laura mcknight, NOLA.com, "See surveillance images of suspect accused of robbing Bud's Broiler with toy gun," 8 Aug. 2017
The greater public perception of postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis is promising.

— dyane harwood, SELF, "We Need to Talk About Postpartum Bipolar Disorder," 25 July 2017
Acute psychosis: The parent kills the child based on ideas that are inconsistent with reality.

— paul martucci, CNN, "A parent killing a child happens more often than we think," 7 July 2017
The left should militate against any creeping conspiracy-mongering among its ranks, even if the problem pales in comparison to the psychosis of practically the entire right-wing media ecosystem.

— ryan kearney, New Republic, "How Donald Trump lost his mind.," 2 July 2017
This was the primary diagnosis; the depression and psychosis were stemming from this syndrome.

— wayne catan, idahostatesman, "New book says Hemingway suffered an early form of dementia," 30 June 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of psychosis

New Latin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1847

See Words from the same year

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, schadenfreude, subliminal

PSYCHOSIS Defined for English Language Learners

psychosis

noun

Definition of psychosis for English Language Learners

: a very serious mental illness that makes you behave strangely or believe things that are not true

Medical Dictionary

psychosis

noun psy·cho·sis \ sī-ˈkō-səs \

medical Definition of psychosis

plural psychoses play \-ˌsēz\

:a serious mental illness (as schizophrenia) characterized by defective or lost contact with reality often with hallucinations or delusions

Learn More about psychosis

See words that rhyme with psychosis Spanish Central: Translation of psychosis Nglish: Translation of psychosis for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about psychosis

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psychosis

Definition of psychosis

Examples of psychosis in a Sentence

Recent Examples of psychosis from the Web

Origin and Etymology of psychosis

Other Psychology Terms

PSYCHOSIS Defined for English Language Learners

psychosis

Definition of psychosis for English Language Learners

Medical Dictionary

psychosis

medical Definition of psychosis

Learn More about psychosis

Seen and Heard

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psychosis

Definition of psychosis

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Origin and Etymology of psychosis

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PSYCHOSIS Defined for English Language Learners

psychosis

Definition of psychosis for English Language Learners

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psychosis

medical Definition of psychosis

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