Word
psychopath
Phoneticspsy·chopath
US/ˈsaɪkoʊˌpæθ/
UK/sˈaɪkəʊpˌɑːθ/
Definition
n. a person who lacks empathy and does not care about the feelings or safety of others. You might hear this word used to describe someone who lies easily, manipulates people, and feels no guilt.
n. a person afflicted with a severe personality disorder characterised by antisocial behaviour, diminished empathy, and a lack of remorse. In non-clinical contexts, it frequently describes anyone who behaves in a ruthlessly manipulative or callous manner.
Examples
“The movie features a dangerous psychopath who manipulates everyone around him.”
“The detective realized the suspect was a psychopath who felt absolutely no guilt about the crimes he had committed.”
“Although true clinical psychopaths are rare, corporate environments sometimes reward individuals who exhibit similar traits, such as superficial charm and a complete disregard for colleagues.”
Examples
simple
“The movie features a dangerous psychopath who manipulates everyone around him.”
contextual
“The detective realized the suspect was a psychopath who felt absolutely no guilt about the crimes he had committed.”
complex
“Although true clinical psychopaths are rare, corporate environments sometimes reward individuals who exhibit similar traits, such as superficial charm and a complete disregard for colleagues.”
Real-World Examples
“In 1976, he said that he simply didn’t know to what extent his results could be generalised to non-incarcerated psychopaths, including female ones.” “In 2019’s Talking With Psychopaths and Savages: Beyond Evil, Berry-Dee quotes Bundy saying, “We serial killers are your sons, we are your husbands … we are everywhere.” Etymology
From German psychopathisch, from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul”) + πάθος (páthos, “suffering”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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englishreference.com/q/psychopath