psychotic

psychotic — adjective

1. relating to a severe mental condition in which a person can no longer distinguis

1.adjectiveC1
Definition

relating to a severe mental condition in which a person can no longer distinguish what is real from what is imagined, often leading them to perceive events or objects that exist only in their own mind or to hold beliefs that have no basis in fact.

Example

Zola's doctor diagnosed her with a psychotic disorder after several months of severe paranoia.

collocation: psychotic disorder

The psychiatric team admitted Andrew after he showed clear signs of a psychotic break.

collocation: psychotic break

Common collocations
  • psychotic disorder
  • psychotic episode
  • psychotic symptoms
  • psychotic break
  • psychotic depression
  • psychotic behavior
  • acute psychotic illness
Synonyms
  • delusional

    focuses specifically on holding false beliefs, which is one symptom of psychosis but not the full condition; less clinical in tone

  • mentally ill

    much broader term covering all kinds of mental health conditions, not only psychosis; less precise

  • deranged

    informal and dated; carries a judgmental tone that the clinical term psychotic does not

Antonyms
  • sane

    describes someone of sound mind; a legal and everyday term, not a clinical opposite

  • mentally healthy

    non-technical opposite; describes someone without any mental illness

Grammar Patterns

psychotic + noun

be/become + psychotic

Usage Note

A clinical term used in psychiatry and medicine. Avoid using it informally to describe someone who is simply angry, eccentric, or unpredictable — that usage is considered inaccurate and offensive.

Common Mistakes

My teacher is psychotic because she gave us a lot of homework.
My teacher was really strict because she gave us a lot of homework.
Psychotic is a medical term for a specific mental condition, not a casual word for 'angry' or 'unreasonable'.
That roller coaster ride was psychotic.
That roller coaster ride was terrifying.
Using 'psychotic' as slang for 'extreme' or 'crazy' is both inaccurate and stigmatising.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Psychotic is a clinical term for a specific condition involving a break from reality — hallucinations, delusions, or both. Delusional is narrower: it describes someone who holds fixed false beliefs, but not necessarily the hallucinations or disorganised thinking that define psychosis. Mentally ill is a broad umbrella covering everything from depression to schizophrenia, so it is less precise. Deranged and insane are much less clinical: deranged is dated and emotionally charged, while insane is primarily a legal term (the insanity defence) or a casual exaggeration. In everyday writing, use psychotic only when referring to actual psychosis; for milder or non-clinical situations, choose mentally ill or another more appropriate term.

delusionalmentally illderangedinsane ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • acutely
  • chronically

Phrases

  • signs of psychotic illness
  • diagnosed with a psychotic disorder

Etymology

GreekGermanEnglish

The word psychotic comes from the Greek psykhē (mind, soul) combined with the suffix -otic (meaning 'affected with' or 'relating to'). The noun psychosis was first used in the 1800s by German doctors to describe severe mental illness. Psychotic appeared in English a little later as the adjective form.