Word
psych
US/ˈsaɪk/
UK/sˈaɪk/
Definition
adj. related to a style of music or art that is very colourful, strange, and dream-like.
adj. A clipping of psychedelic; relating to drug-induced altered states or the artistic and musical styles associated with them.
Examples
“I'm moving to Mars tomorrow—psych!”
“He told his sister he had eaten all her chocolate, but then shouted 'psych!' and pulled the unopened bar from his pocket.”
“The comedian often used 'psych' to punctuate his bait-and-switch jokes, leading the audience toward a serious conclusion before subverting their expectations with a sudden, playful reveal.”
Examples
simple
“I'm moving to Mars tomorrow—psych!”
contextual
“He told his sister he had eaten all her chocolate, but then shouted 'psych!' and pulled the unopened bar from his pocket.”
complex
“The comedian often used 'psych' to punctuate his bait-and-switch jokes, leading the audience toward a serious conclusion before subverting their expectations with a sudden, playful reveal.”
Real-World Examples
“We cannot even see the most important parts of our own selves: our thoughts, feelings, personalities, psyches, morals, minds, souls.” Etymology
Clipping.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/psych