psychopathic
/,saikou'pæθik/
Definition
- Adjective:
- Relating to or suffering from psychopathy: Describes a severe mental disorder characterized by persistent antisocial behavior, impaired empathy and remorse, and bold, disinhibited, and egotistical traits.
- Manifesting amoral and antisocial behavior: Pertaining to a personality type that shows a profound lack of conscience or empathy, often coupled with manipulative and deceitful behavior.
Usage and Examples
- Adjective:
- The forensic psychologist assessed the defendant as psychopathic.
- The film's villain is a chillingly psychopathic character who feels no guilt.
- Psychopathic tendencies can be identified through specific behavioral patterns.
Advanced Usage
- "psychopathic personality": A clinical term for an individual exhibiting the core traits of psychopathy.
- The study focused on the neurological correlates of the psychopathic personality.
- In a non-clinical, figurative sense, the word is sometimes used hyperbolically to describe extremely cruel or callous behavior, though this usage is informal and not diagnostically accurate.
- His psychopathic disregard for safety regulations endangered everyone.
Variants and Related Words
- Psychopathy (n): The mental disorder or personality condition itself.
- Psychopathy is a complex psychiatric construct.
- Psychopath (n): A person affected by psychopathy.
- The term psychopath is often misused in popular culture.
- Sociopathic (adj): Often used similarly, though there are nuanced clinical distinctions between psychopathy and sociopathy.
Synonyms
- Antisocial (in a personality disorder context)
- Sociopathic
- Unfeeling (less clinical, descriptive)
Antonyms
- Empathetic
- Conscientious
- Altruistic
Related Phrases and Collocations
- Psychopathic disorder: A legal or older clinical term for severe personality disorder with antisocial behavior.
- He was diagnosed with a psychopathic disorder.
- Psychopathic traits/features: Referring to the specific characteristics of psychopathy.
- The assessment tool measures a range of psychopathic traits.
Adjective
-
suffering from an undiagnosed mental disorder
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