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
Royal Caribbean crew members also allegedly injected Haloperidol, a prescription medication used to treat psychotic disorders, into Virgil at the request of the ship's captain.
—
Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
Finding his family under threat from a pair of psychotic local gangsters, Roman must use both his stock-market smarts and his family’s crematorium to curry favor with, and finally overcome, his enemies.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Geyser had been placed in an undisclosed group home this fall to continue treatment for a psychotic spectrum disorder.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 23 Nov. 2025
Rupard suffered from schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for psychotic
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Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
Finding his family under threat from a pair of psychotic local gangsters, Roman must use both his stock-market smarts and his family’s crematorium to curry favor with, and finally overcome, his enemies.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
Geyser had been placed in an undisclosed group home this fall to continue treatment for a psychotic spectrum disorder.
—Anna Kleiber, jsonline.com, 23 Nov. 2025
Rupard suffered from schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders.
—Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for psychotic
Cite this Entry
“Psychotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychotic. Accessed 13 Dec. 2025.
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
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