PSYCHING (OUT) Synonyms: 46 Similar and Opposite Words

psyching (out)

verb

present participle of psych (out)

as in frightening

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for psyching (out)

Verb

Powell tried to open the stall door, and then began fondling himself, frightening the 11-year-old, who tried to leave, but Powell blocked him from getting out.

— Todd Feurer, CBS News, 6 June 2026
This war has been a disaster for them, frightening away foreign investors, tourists and talent and burdening them with a future of huge new defense bills to deter Iran after the United States is gone.

— Thomas L. Friedman, Mercury News, 15 May 2026

Definition of frightening

Verb

These get forwarded across the internet, and soon masses of young people are surging into an urban plaza or park, often terrifying any adult who happens to be nearby.

— Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026
Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon is breathtaking and also terrifying with a 4-year-old along.

— Sarah D. Wire, USA Today, 17 May 2026

Definition of terrifying

Verb

The young boy’s biggest concern is staying out of the crosshairs of Calavera (Mauro Guzmán), the neighborhood bully who seems destined to follow the same path as his intimidating older brother, Felix (Cosmo Gonzalez).

— Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 8 July 2026
Sangha said that gangsters intimidating immigrants in the Central Valley is far more prevalent than reported.

— Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 8 July 2026

Definition of intimidating

Verb

Maybe two or three groups of hoaxers out there at once, bumping into each other in the dark and scaring the scales off one another.

— Star-Telegram staff, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 July 2026
There are multiple songs that could be (and were) covered by the Jackson 5 without scaring the teenyboppers, but Stone’s musical and lyrical depth is right there in the band’s most accessible album.

— Al Shipley, SPIN, 7 July 2026

Definition of scaring

Verb

Ahead of his final year at the prestigious Buckley School, Bret (Igby Rigney) is shaken up by a mysterious new student, Robert Mallory (Homer Gere), who arrives just as a serial killer called the Trawler is terrorizing LA.

— Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 13 July 2026
Witt claimed that Golubski — who in 2024 faced trial for allegations including terrorizing and abusing Black women in KCK for decades before killing himself the day it was scheduled to begin — also abused her late cousin, Elaine Greene.

— Sofi Zeman July 2, Kansas City Star, 2 July 2026

Definition of terrorizing

Verb

Heat waves threaten an array of costs for the economy, sapping the productivity of outdoor workers, shutting some shoppers inside their homes and driving up utility payments, some analysts told ABC News.

— Max Zahn, ABC News, 8 July 2026
To be clear, government spending is the biggest, most economy-sapping tax of all.

— John Tamny, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026

Definition of sapping

Verb

That the women who show such bravery in speaking out against powerful men are wasting their time because their trauma cannot compete with the power of sport, or the power that sport imparts on its protagonists.

— Sarah Shephard, New York Times, 11 July 2026
In addition to following the strict Laws of the Game, keeping up with professional athletes and embracing their new technology, referees are also cracking down on time-wasting.

— Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 11 July 2026

Definition of wasting

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Browse Nearby Words

psychics

psyching (out)

psyching (up)

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Style

“Psyching (out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/psyching%20%28out%29. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of psyching (out)

verb

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