psyche Hear it!

psyche Definition

psy·che ()

noun

  1. the human soul
  2. the intellect
  3. Psychiatry the mind considered as a subjectively perceived, functional entity, based ultimately upon physical processes but with complex processes of its own: it governs the total organism and its interactions with the environment

Etymology: Gr psychē, the soul, akin to psychein, to blow, cool < IE base *bhes-, to blow > Sans bábhasti, (he) blows

Psyche Definition

Psy·che ()

noun

Rom. Folklore a maiden who, after undergoing many hardships due to Venus' jealousy of her beauty, is reunited with Cupid and made immortal by Jupiter

Etymology: L < Gr psychē: see psyche

psyche Synonyms

psyche

n.

subconscious, mind, ego, inner self, individuality, personality; see also character 2.

psyche Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • explore: An insightful piece exploring the psyches of great men weighed down.. .
  • understand: That research is no substitute for understanding the human psyche.
  • enter: But if we are supposed to enter the psyche of Sellers, maybe that's the point.

Adjective modifier

  • collective: BB brings people together by showing up the flaws in the collective psyche.
  • twisted: Would his masterpiece about the depths of one man's twisted psyche have been celebrated in any other decade?
  • fragile: Each acknowledgment of England's improvement is wrapped around a spiky jibe which could wound any fragile psyche in Vaughan's team.
  • troubled: He is helped by young cadet Poe, who reveals an agile mind and a troubled psyche.
  • human: The pagan impulse is deeply embedded in the human psyche.
  • American: The question now is whether the American psyche has the balls to look into its internal shadows its deeply riven social unity.

Noun used with modifier

  • world: By this means, the world psyche maximizes its experience.
  • group: In deeper levels the dividing line, if any, between own and group psyches is very hazy.

Possessives

  • nation: In orthodox history Henry VIII is regarded as a great king, yet he was a tyrant who severely damaged the nation's psyche.
  • person: Also, dreams usually tell a very large amount about the state of a person's psyche, and recurring dreams are particularly telling.
  • man: This, as said before, is man's psyche, his mortal soul.

Preposition: of

  • nation: Here we examine the ways the psyches of nations have been damaged.
  • person: Okay, so a psi-moon shapes itself to the psyche of a person.
  • man: Its roots run deep in the psyche of man.
  • people: The September 11 attack on the World Trade Center had a tangible impact on the psyche of the American people.
psyche Quotes

The relation between the human tongue, the human psyche and butterfat is not very complex. The first two love the third.

—Waxman, Howard

Browse dictionary entries near psyche

  1. psychasthenia
  2. psych-
  3. psych
  4. PSTS
  5. PSTN
  6. PST
  7. psst
  8. PSS1
  9. PSRO
  10. PSR
  1. Psyche knot
  2. psychedelia
  3. psychedelic
  4. psychiatric
  5. psychiatrist
  6. psychiatry
  7. psychic
  8. psycho
  9. psycho-
  10. psychoacoustics