plural psychos
informal + disparaging
informal + disparaging
: of, relating to, or being a person who is mentally or emotionally unsound or unstable especially in a way that results in dangerous or violent behavior
Synonyms
Examples of psycho in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
WIRED, 17 Mar. 2023
Another summer, another hook-wielding psycho killer — and maybe some familiar faces too.
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 7 Feb. 2023
Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter Melissa Barrera 'Scream VI.' | Credit: Philippe Bossé/Paramount Tara's sister Sam has also moved east to keep an eye on her sibling and an eye out for a certain mask-wearing psycho.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 8 Mar. 2023
How James Dearden’s original script entered development as a sympathetic portrayal of a single woman until studio execs turned it into the story of a villainous, largely unsympathetic psycho.
—Vulture, 5 Apr. 2022
Yet the bear adds gore and suspense and a soupçon of lurid excitement, the same way that an ax-wielding psycho does.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 Feb. 2023
Here is McCarthy’s God: a deranged psycho who not only tolerates his world’s atrocities but conceives of them in these strange and inhuman terms.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2022
Gen X icons Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell, and David Arquette teach some Gen Z whippersnappers how to avoid being murdered by a masked psycho in the new trailer for Scream 5.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2021
Australian actor Josh Lawson as the psycho Kano steals the movie with enough twisted humor to deserve his own franchise.
—Mark Kennedy, Star Tribune, 22 Apr. 2021
Noun
Texturally, the series is best categorized as a psycho-thriller, but the design of the episodes is never redundant.
—WIRED, 17 Mar. 2023
Another summer, another hook-wielding psycho killer — and maybe some familiar faces too.
—Jessica Wang, EW.com, 7 Feb. 2023
Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter Melissa Barrera 'Scream VI.' | Credit: Philippe Bossé/Paramount Tara's sister Sam has also moved east to keep an eye on her sibling and an eye out for a certain mask-wearing psycho.
—Clark Collis, EW.com, 8 Mar. 2023
How James Dearden’s original script entered development as a sympathetic portrayal of a single woman until studio execs turned it into the story of a villainous, largely unsympathetic psycho.
—Vulture, 5 Apr. 2022
Yet the bear adds gore and suspense and a soupçon of lurid excitement, the same way that an ax-wielding psycho does.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 23 Feb. 2023
Here is McCarthy’s God: a deranged psycho who not only tolerates his world’s atrocities but conceives of them in these strange and inhuman terms.
—Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 5 Dec. 2022
Gen X icons Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell, and David Arquette teach some Gen Z whippersnappers how to avoid being murdered by a masked psycho in the new trailer for Scream 5.
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 12 Oct. 2021
Australian actor Josh Lawson as the psycho Kano steals the movie with enough twisted humor to deserve his own franchise.
—Mark Kennedy, Star Tribune, 22 Apr. 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'psycho.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near psycho
Cite this Entry
“Psycho.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psycho. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
psycho
1 of 2 noun
psy·cho
ˈsī-kō 
: a person of unsound mind
—not used technically
psycho-
2 of 2 combining form
: mind : mental processes and activities
psychotherapy
Etymology
Noun
short for psychopath
Combining form
derived from Greek psychē "soul, mind, principle of life"
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