as in to brace
to prepare (oneself) mentally or emotionally
I have to psych myself up before every swimming competition
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for psych (up)
Verb
-
Thousands still without power after tornadoes last week Days after a severe weather outbreak, thousands of NIPSCO customers are still without power and are bracing for the next rounds of severe weather.—
Laura Bannon,
CBS News,
17 June 2026 -
Gulf Coast states already dealing with massive floods are bracing for even more extreme weather as the first tropical storm of the season could form as early as Tuesday night.—
Kenton Gewecke,
ABC News,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Like Port, Madeira is fortified.—
Emily Price,
Forbes.com,
14 June 2026
-
And the White Sox, like most clubs, could stand to fortify their bullpen, too.—
Ken Rosenthal,
New York Times,
11 June 2026
Verb
-
New York City is readying for crowds to flood the streets of Lower Manhattan on Thursday as the New York Knicks celebrate their NBA Finals win -- the first in over five decades.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
-
The next summer, Percy and Delilah (Abigail Cowen) are readying to reopen the Tavern.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
11 June 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Psych (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/psych%20%28up%29. Accessed 22 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
