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psych also psyche (sīk) Informal
Share:
v. psyched, psych·ing, psyches
v.tr.
1.
a. To put into the right psychological frame of mind: The coach psyched the team before the game.
b. To excite emotionally: The children were psyched to see the circus.
2. To undermine the confidence of by psychological means; intimidate: "Depending on whose personality is stronger, one can more easily psych the other" (Harold C. Schonberg).
3.
a. To analyze, solve, or comprehend.
b. To anticipate or guess the intentions of: "Most others could never approach [his] ability ... to psyche out the opposition's thinking so consistently" (Steven Brill).
4. Informal To analyze and treat by psychoanalysis.
v.intr.
To become confused or mentally deranged.
n. psych
Psychology.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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