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Psycho– is a combining form used like a prefix meaning either “psyche” or “psychological.” Psyche denotes “the human soul, spirit, or mind,” while psychological is a related yet distinct term that means “pertaining to psychology, the science of the mind or of mental states.” Psycho– is often used in medical and technical terms, especially in psychology.

Psycho– comes from Greek �����̄����ḗ, meaning “breath, spirit, soul, mind.” For more on the meaning of this word in Ancient Greek mythology, read our entry for psyche. The word psyche is at the root of the term psychedelic, which refers to the effect of hallucinogenic drugs.

What are variants of psycho-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, psycho– becomes psych–, as in psychiatry. Want to know more? Read our �y��vlogs That Use article on psych-.

An example of a word you may have encountered that features psycho– is psychopathy, “a mental disorder in which an individual manifests amoral and antisocial behavior, lack of ability to love or establish meaningful personal relationships, extreme egocentricity, failure to learn from experience, etc.”

While psycho– means “psyche,” the –pathy portion of the word refers to “disease,” from Greek ��á�ٳ�𾱲�, meaning “suffering.” Psychopathy literally means “disease of the psyche (mind).”

What are some words that use the combining form psycho-?

• psychoactive
• psychoanalyze
• psychoanalysis (using the equivalent form of psycho– in German)
• psychoanalytic
• psychobabble
• psychobiography
• psychobiology
• psychochemistry
• psychodiagnosis (using the equivalent form of psycho– in Latin)
• psychodrama
• psychodynamic
• psychoendocrinology
• psychogenesis (using the equivalent form of psycho– in Latin)
• psychograph
• psychohistory
• psychokinesis
• psycholinguistics
• psychology (using the equivalent form of psycho– in Latin)
• psychomachia (using the equivalent form of psycho– in Latin)
• psychomancy
• psychometrics
• psychomotor
• psychoneuroimmunology
• psychoneurotic
• psychopharmacology
• psychopomp (using the equivalent form of psycho– in Greek)
• psychosexual
• psychosocial
• psychotherapy
• psychotoxic

What are some other forms that psycho– may be commonly confused with?

• pseudo-
• psychro-
• py-
• pyro-

The combining form –metrics means “the science of measuring.” With this in mind, what is the field of psychometrics?