antipsychotic

noun

an·​ti·​psy·​chot·​ic ˌan-tē-sī-ˈkä-tik 

ˌan-tī-

: any of the powerful tranquilizers (such as the phenothiazines and butyrophenones) used especially to treat psychosis and believed to act by blocking dopamine nervous receptors

called also neuroleptic

antipsychotic adjective

Examples of antipsychotic in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Treatment with atypical antipsychotics, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) medications, or glucocorticoids. —Fran Kritz, Verywell Health, 24 July 2025

Nearly all the patients in the study had been treated with antipsychotics, and more than half of them died. —Rachel Aviv, New Yorker, 21 July 2025

Defense searched for Purdy’s mother An antipsychotic is among the medications that Purdy has been prescribed at the Tarrant County Jail. —Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 27 June 2025

Heat intolerance is a common side effect of medications like selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), hypertension medication, antipsychotics, some antibiotics and other drugs. —Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1958, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for antipsychotic

• antibiotic
• antithrombotic
• epizootic
• homoerotic
• psychoneurotic
• unpatriotic
• xenobiotic
• abiotic
• aeronautic
• apoptotic
• asymptotic
• cyanotic

Medical Definition

antipsychotic

1 of 2 adjective

an·​ti·​psy·​chot·​ic ˌant-i-sī-ˈkät-ik, ˌan-ˌtī- 

: of, being, or involving the use of an antipsychotic

antipsychotic drugs

antipsychotic

2 of 2 noun

: any of the powerful tranquilizers (as the phenothiazines or butyrophenones) used especially to treat psychosis and believed to act by blocking dopamine nervous receptors

called also neuroleptic