# psychedelic

/ˌsaɪkəˈdɛɫɪk/ (US) · /sˌaɪkɪdˈɛlɪk/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/psychedelic
Updated: 2026-08-27

## Senses

### 1. mind-altering

adjective · CEFR C1 · Technical

describing drugs or experiences that change how you see, hear, and feel reality.

For teachers: relating to or denoting drugs that produce hallucinations and apparent expansion of consciousness.

- The scientist studied the psychedelic effects of certain mushrooms on the brain.
- Research into psychedelic compounds has seen a resurgence as clinicians explore their potential for treating treatment-resistant depression and anxiety.

### 2. visual style

adjective · CEFR B2

having bright colors, strange patterns, and abstract shapes like those in 1960s art.

For teachers: characterized by bold colors and distorted or abstract patterns reminiscent of drug-induced hallucinations.

- The band played in front of a psychedelic background of swirling purple and green lights.
- The graphic designer utilized a psychedelic palette to evoke the counterculture aesthetic of the late 1960s for the festival poster.

### 3. a substance

noun · CEFR C1 · Technical

a drug that causes hallucinations and changes how you think.

For teachers: a psychoactive substance, such as LSD or psilocybin, that produces distortions of perception and altered awareness.

- He spoke about his experiences taking psychedelics during his youth.
- The legal status of various psychedelics is currently being debated in several jurisdictions following promising results in clinical trials.

## Examples

- The band played music with a psychedelic sound.
- The walls of the club were covered in psychedelic posters that seemed to glow under the purple lights.
- The film's psychedelic sequence uses rapid editing and kaleidoscopic imagery to represent the protagonist's fractured state of mind during the experiment.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.