psyop

noun

psy·​op ˈsī-ˌäp 

variants or PSYOP or less commonly psy-op or PsyOp

plural psyops or PSYOPs also psy-ops or PsyOps

1

: a military operation usually aimed at influencing the enemy's state of mind through noncombative means (such as distribution of leaflets)

Psyops use a wide array of communications media—including radio and TV broadcasts, loudspeakers, newspapers, magazines, leaflets and even comic books—to help win or prevent wars.

—Harold Kennedy

A PSYOP is a form of military operation that targets the emotional and mental state of the enemy.

—Mitzi Perdue

"My job in psy-ops is to play with people's heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave," says Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes …

—Michael Hastings

a CIA psyops/psyop campaign

2

: someone or something used by the government to influence the population's opinions and attitudes

… some hard-line conservatives have raised conspiracy theories … that [singer-songwriter Taylor] Swift is a government psyop planted by the Pentagon to aid Democrats …

—Rachel Schilke

Examples of psyop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Reddit is best known as a forum for discussing how to retire in your thirties, trade conspiracy theories about medical school being a psyop, and gossip about which influencer is taking a GLP-1 but not admitting it. — Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 4 Aug. 2026

Walkable to lots of lovely stuff — IFC Center, Washington Square Park, and that cute little shopping district on Bleecker that is actually a retail psyop! — Katie McDonough, Curbed, 18 May 2026

Yet, the news and social media psyop demonize the administration for doing less than previous administrations. — Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 4 May 2026

This season will feature Peep Show’s David Mitchell as well as Mel Giedroyc, a former presenter on The Great British Bake Off, the cottagecore cooking contest that increasingly feels like a House of Windsor soft-power psyop. — Claire McNear, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

psychological operation

First Known Use

1965, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for psyop

• bop
• chop
• cop
• crop
• drop
• flop
• fop
• hop
• knop
• lop
• mop
• op