psychotic
adjective
psy·chot·ic
sī-ˈkä-tik 
1
medical
: of, relating to, marked by, or affected with psychosis
a psychotic patient
psychotic behavior
2
sometimes offensive
: exhibiting or suggestive of mental or emotional unsoundness or instability
—not used technically
Note: The nontechnical use of psychotic is increasingly viewed as a trivialization of mental illness.
psychotic
noun
plural psychotics
Synonyms of psychotic
Examples of psychotic in a Sentence
He was diagnosed as psychotic.
a psychotic patient who was recently admitted
Recent Examples on the Web
Quetiapine is an anti-psychotic medication used to treat conditions like schizophrenia.
—
Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 15 Dec. 2025
Kimberly Mullins and the couple’s two children are reportedly accusing Stines of assault and battery, while alleging that three other sheriff’s employees did not warn or protect the judge from Stines, who was showing signs of being anxious, violently paranoid and psychotic.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025
Royal Caribbean crew members also allegedly injected Haloperidol, a prescription medication used to treat psychotic disorders, into Virgil at the request of the ship's captain.
—Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
Finding his family under threat from a pair of psychotic local gangsters, Roman must use both his stock-market smarts and his family’s crematorium to curry favor with, and finally overcome, his enemies.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for psychotic
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Ryan Oehrli, Charlotte Observer, 15 Dec. 2025
Kimberly Mullins and the couple’s two children are reportedly accusing Stines of assault and battery, while alleging that three other sheriff’s employees did not warn or protect the judge from Stines, who was showing signs of being anxious, violently paranoid and psychotic.
—Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Julia Bonavita, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025
Royal Caribbean crew members also allegedly injected Haloperidol, a prescription medication used to treat psychotic disorders, into Virgil at the request of the ship's captain.
—Kiki Intarasuwan, CBS News, 8 Dec. 2025
Finding his family under threat from a pair of psychotic local gangsters, Roman must use both his stock-market smarts and his family’s crematorium to curry favor with, and finally overcome, his enemies.
—Emma Alpern, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for psychotic
Cite this Entry
“Psychotic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychotic. Accessed 18 Dec. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
psychotic
1 of 2 adjective
psy·chot·ic
sī-ˈkät-ik
: of, relating to, marked by, or affected with psychosis
psychotic
2 of 2 noun
: a psychotic individual
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