as in to brace
to prepare (oneself) mentally or emotionally
I have to psych myself up before every swimming competition
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for psych (up)
Verb
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The apartment was unusually still, my coffee beside me gone cold, as if bracing for what would come next.—
Adrianne Wright,
Fortune,
11 Feb. 2026 -
Now requests are arriving steadily from New York, Maine, and Milan, other locales bracing for their own sieges.—
Kathryn Savage,
Artforum,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Connecticut should continue to fortify its legal framework so that care decisions remain between patients, families, and medical professionals — not politicians or out-of-state actors — and so that the right to bodily autonomy is grounded as securely as possible in state law.—
Matthew Blinstrubas,
Hartford Courant,
7 Feb. 2026
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This means not every cereal is fortified to the same degree or even necessarily fortified at all.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Research has long shown that a constantly percolating stress response strains practically every body part, particularly your heart, which pumps harder and faster to ready you for action.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
5 Feb. 2026
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As well as cheeky possums and young kestrels readying to make their first flight, this year’s gallery also includes images that ask bigger questions about the human impact on the planet.—
Charlotte Reck,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Psych (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/psych%20%28up%29. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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