mind game

noun

: a psychological tactic used to manipulate or intimidate
usually used in plural
played mind games with his opponent

Examples of mind game in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Deterrence is partly a mind game in which adversaries must fear not just a state’s capabilities but also a state’s willingness to use them. Ali Vaez, Foreign Affairs, 25 Jan. 2024 How To Keep Tabs On Your Actual Weight First, ask the hard question: Is weighing yourself on a scale productive, or a mind game, for you? Moira Lawler, Women's Health, 2 June 2023 With a deep breath, steady hands and just 3.13 seconds, the 21-year-old solved the colorful mind game with 43 quintillion possible combinations, aligning each side perfectly by color. Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2023 Another set, another mind game. Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 4 July 2022 In other words, falling asleep can be a mind game. Brittany Leitner, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Feb. 2023 Stories about a set of joke books that changed the bestsellers charts by reprinting the most tasteless, racist, sexist jokes possible; the psychology and origins of a mind game that can never be won; and Alberta, Canada’s claim to be completely rat-free. Todd Spangler, Variety, 10 Nov. 2021 Inflation is a mind game. Washington Post, 13 July 2021 In that moment, Imogen plays a mind game and knows quickly to do so. Vulture, 19 Aug. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mind game.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mind game was in 1963

Dictionary Entries Near mind game

Cite this Entry

“Mind game.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mind%20game. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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