psychosis

noun psy·cho·sis \ sī-ˈkō-səs \

|Updated on: 9 Jun 2018

Definition of psychosis

plural psychoses play \sī-ˈkō-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

In other cases, the red flag law has been used to remove a gun from someone diagnosed with active psychosis or in domestic violence cases.

— shari rudavsky, Indianapolis Star, "UIndy study finds 'red flag' laws for gun removal can reduce suicides," 4 June 2018
The National Academies report said pot smoking may be linked to higher chances of traffic accidents, chronic bronchitis from long-term use and schizophrenia and other causes of psychosis, especially in the most frequent users.

— NBC News, "Cancer docs feel unprepared, but recommend marijuana anyway," 10 May 2018
Chrouch recalls a case of a mother with postpartum psychosis who began to break things in the home.

— refinery29.com, "New Moms & Night Nurses: Why Is No One Talking About The Privilege Seen In Tully?," 9 May 2018
In other words, time to examine the numbers to determine what the results say about your collective political psychosis, Chicago.

— ben joravsky, Chicago Reader, "Politics Chicago's political psychosis has me paging Dr. Freud after last week's primary," 27 Mar. 2018
But, there are people who shouldn't take them: people at risk for serious mental illness, for psychosis, for schizophrenia.

— clay skipper, GQ, "Michael Pollan on Why Psychedelics Might Save Us All," 18 May 2018
In cases of early psychosis, early intervention can cut the risk of suicide by half, according to a recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

— marian liu, CNN, "The secret burden of mental illness in Hong Kong," 29 Apr. 2018
However, that story didn’t indicate if the death rate was higher than what would be expected in a similar group of patients with Parkinson’s disease psychosis who didn’t get the drug.

— bradley j. fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "No change in FDA's position on Parkinson's drug Nuplazid," 27 Apr. 2018
Someone with psychosis, for instance, should receive treatment in two weeks but may wait up to six months, says Will Johnstone of Rethink Mental Illness, a charity.

— The Economist, "An alarming rise in mental-health sectioning in Britain," 19 Apr. 2018

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

in the meaning defined above

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

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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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