psyche

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˈsaɪkiː/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    The human soul, mind, or spirit; the totality of the human mind, conscious and unconscious.; In psychoanalytic theory, the mind regarded as the totality of conscious and unconscious mental processes and activities.; In Greek mythology, a beautiful maiden loved by Eros (Cupid) who was made immortal by Zeus.; A representation of the soul as a butterfly or a young woman with butterfly wings in classical art.; A large asteroid (16 Psyche) in the asteroid belt, believed to be the exposed core of a protoplanet.; The essential character or nature of a person, group, or nation; the collective mindset.; In ancient Greek philosophy, the principle of life, the animating force or breath of life.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: psyches 3rd sing.: psyches Past: psyched Past part.: psyched Pres part.: psyching

Collocations

human psychethe collective psychenational psychepsyche someone outpsyche yourself upexplore the psyche

Derivatives

psychicpsychicalpsychologypsychologicalpsychologistpsychedelicpsychiatricpsychiatrypsychiatristpsychopathpsychosomaticpsycho

Synonyms

mindsoulspiritconsciousnessinner selfintellect

Commonly confused

psychic
EN: 'Psychic' is an adjective meaning relating to the mind or supernatural perception, or a noun for a person with such abilities; 'psyche' is the mind or soul itself.
psych
EN: 'Psych' is an informal verb (as in 'psych someone out') or a colloquial exclamation; 'psyche' is the formal noun for the mind/soul.
psycho
EN: 'Psycho' is informal/slang for a psychopathic person; 'psyche' refers to the mind or mental structure.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember the silent 'ps-' at the beginning; it is pronounced /ˈsaɪki/. Do not drop the 'p' or confuse it with 'psych' (informal verb).

💬 Examples

  1. The trauma left a deep scar on her psyche that took years to heal.

  2. Freud believed that the psyche is divided into the id, ego, and superego.

  3. The story of Psyche and Eros is one of the most famous tales from classical mythology.

  4. The marble sculpture depicted Psyche with delicate butterfly wings emerging from her shoulders.

  5. NASA launched a mission to study Psyche, a metal-rich asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter.

  6. The defeat struck at the very heart of the nation's psyche.

  7. Aristotle defined the psyche as the form of a natural body that has life potentially.