Word
sociopath
Phoneticsso·ciopath
US/ˈsoʊsioʊˌpæθ/
UK/sˈəʊsɪˌɒpɑːθ/
Definition
n. a person who does not care about other people's feelings or rights. They often behave in harmful ways and do not feel guilty about the damage they cause.
n. a person with a personality disorder manifesting in extreme antisocial attitudes, a lack of conscience, and manipulative behaviour. In non-clinical contexts, it broadly describes anyone who acts with extreme callousness.
Examples
“The villain in the movie was a cold and calculating sociopath.”
“Because he lied constantly and never showed remorse for hurting his friends, people began to wonder if he was a sociopath.”
“While true clinical diagnoses require extensive psychological evaluation, the media often labels any highly manipulative corporate executive who ruthlessly dismantles companies for profit as a functional sociopath.”
Examples
simple
“The villain in the movie was a cold and calculating sociopath.”
contextual
“Because he lied constantly and never showed remorse for hurting his friends, people began to wonder if he was a sociopath.”
complex
“While true clinical diagnoses require extensive psychological evaluation, the media often labels any highly manipulative corporate executive who ruthlessly dismantles companies for profit as a functional sociopath.”
Usage
Often used interchangeably with 'psychopath' in everyday speech; typically modified by adjectives denoting emotional detachment, such as 'cold' or 'calculating'.
Real-World Examples
“Unless you’re a sociopath, nobody can claim not to want to build a better society, and we hope that our existence adds value to the community in which we live.” Etymology
From socio- + -path. First use appears c. 1914.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/sociopath