schizotypal

adjective

schizo·ty·pal ˌskit-sə-ˈtī-pəl

psychology : relating to, characteristic of, or affected with schizotypal personality disorder

schizotypal behavior

Schizotypal subjects have enhanced right-hemisphere function and tend to score above average on measures of creativity and association thinking.—

Jonah Lehrer

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web She was described in the ratings as the highest scorer on paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal, avoidant and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder of all the characters (see figure 2). —

Ncbi Rofl, Discover Magazine, 9 Aug. 2012 This was probably just the slightly high side of medium with some experiences of a schizotypal nature talking. —

Caity Weaver, New York Times, 23 Nov. 2022 A lot of them might have attracted schizotypal persons, who are persons who don’t have schizophrenia, but are highly prone to hallucinate. —

Geek's Guide To The Galaxy, WIRED, 13 Aug. 2021 Patel cast Ramos as a sane man with schizotypal and narcissistic personality disorders who for years was fueled by revenge and a fixation on his legacy. —

Washington Post, 14 July 2021 But a study of young adults did find that UFO belief is associated with schizotypal personality, a tendency toward social anxiety, paranoid ideas and transient psychosis. —

Chris Impey, The Conversation, 4 Dec. 2020 Also schizotypal personality is linked to a higher incidence of paranormal belief. —

Ncbi Rofl, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2011 See More

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

Word History

Etymology

schizotype "person with a genetic predisposition toward schizophrenia" (from schizo- + type entry 1) + -al entry 1

Note: The term schizotype was introduced by the Hungarian-born psychoanalyst Sándor Radó (1890-1972) in "Dynamics and classification of disordered behavior," American Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 110 (1953), p. 409: "In this sense the patient suffering from an open schizophrenic psychosis is a schizophrenic phenotype, engendered by a schizophrenic genotype in its interaction with the environment … For psychodynamic purposes I shall abbreviate the term schizophrenic phenotype to schizotype."

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of schizotypal was in 1953

See more words from the same year