psychotic
adjective
psy·chot·ic
sī-ˈkä-tik 
1
medical
: of, relating to, marked by, or affected with psychosis
a psychotic patient
psychotic behavior
2
sometimes offensive
: exhibiting or suggestive of mental or emotional unsoundness or instability
—not used technically
Note: The nontechnical use of psychotic is increasingly viewed as a trivialization of mental illness.
psychotic
noun
plural psychotics
Synonyms of psychotic
Examples of psychotic in a Sentence
He was diagnosed as psychotic.
a psychotic patient who was recently admitted
Recent Examples on the Web
Among prisoners, 8% had psychotic disorders, compared to less than 1% of the general population, the report said.
—
Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2026
The prescriptions for the anti-psychotic medications Nelson required twice daily were slow to be filled and forgotten on a desk in a corporate office.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2026
After inheriting her childhood home, an unsuspecting woman becomes the object of her psychotic neighbor’s obsession, spiraling her down a violent path of stalking and possession that can only lead her to an extremely bloody Christmas.
—William Earl, Variety, 25 Mar. 2026
Because amphetamines are less commonly prescribed in Europe, there were too few children in the dataset to draw accurate conclusions about drugs such as Adderall and psychotic disorders, Kelleher said.
—David Cox, NBC news, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for psychotic
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.
Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 30 Mar. 2026
The prescriptions for the anti-psychotic medications Nelson required twice daily were slow to be filled and forgotten on a desk in a corporate office.
—Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2026
After inheriting her childhood home, an unsuspecting woman becomes the object of her psychotic neighbor’s obsession, spiraling her down a violent path of stalking and possession that can only lead her to an extremely bloody Christmas.
—William Earl, Variety, 25 Mar. 2026
Because amphetamines are less commonly prescribed in Europe, there were too few children in the dataset to draw accurate conclusions about drugs such as Adderall and psychotic disorders, Kelleher said.
—David Cox, NBC news, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for psychotic
Cite this Entry
“Psychotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychotic. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
psychotic
1 of 2 adjective
psy·chot·ic
sī-ˈkät-ik
: of, relating to, marked by, or affected with psychosis
psychotic
2 of 2 noun
: a psychotic individual
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
