psychepsy‧che /ˈsaɪki/ noun [countable usually singular] technical or formal 
Freud’s account of the human psyche A characteristic of the feminine psyche is to seek approval from others.
WORD ORIGINpsyche
Origin:
1600-1700 Greek ‘breath, life, soul, mind’EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Freud has provided an account of the human psyche's different stages of development.
- the fragile psyche of a teenager
- The need for love is deeply buried in our psyche.
- The war in Vietnam still lingers in the American psyche.
- First, you must expand your psyche to accommodate the bigger and better.
- I've pursued him down the disappearing paths of my own psyche.
- It is a pity we so deform plastic minds and so cripple young psyches.
- Kennedy and Nixon are less memorable for specific achievements than for what they did for our politics and national psyche.
- Lots of confrontation between liberated psyches, lots of free associating.
- The psyche begins a few strides behind third base.
- They also hint that perhaps there is some hidden carrot symbol hidden deep in the human psyche.
- What quirk of the feminine psyche had been responsible for that decision?
THESAURUS
what you use to think and imagine things: · My mind was full of big ideas.· I never know what’s going on in her mind.· At the back of my mind I had the funny feeling that I’d met her somewhere before.· The same thoughts kept going through my mind and I couldn’t get to sleep.
the place where someone’s mind is – use this especially when talking about the thoughts that are in someone’s mind: · I can’t get him out of my head.· You need to get it into your head that you’ve done nothing wrong.· To keep myself calm, I counted to ten in my head.· She’s so quiet – you never quite know what’s going on inside her head (=what she is thinking).
the part of your mind that influences the way you think or behave, even though you may not realize this is happening, and which makes you have dreams: · She suddenly remembered a traumatic incident that had been buried deep in her subconscious.· During the daytime our conscious minds are active, but during the night the subconscious takes over.
formal someone’s mind, especially their feelings and attitudes, and the way these influence their character – used especially when talking about people’s minds in general: · The need for love is deeply buried in our psyche.· Freud has provided an account of the human psyche’s stages of development.· The child is simply searching his psyche to find some past event that relates to his new experiences.
a particular way of thinking that a group of people have, especially one that you think is wrong or bad: · I just don’t understand the mentality of these people.· They all seem to have a kind of victim mentality, which makes them think that the world is permanently against them.
technical the part of your mind that gives you your sense of who you are – used especially in Freudian psychology: · the rational world of the ego and the irrational world of the unconscious
Longman Language Activatoryour mind what you use to think and imagine things: · His mind was full of big ideas for developing the company.· Dave struggled hard to push these worries out of his mind. (=try not to think about them)in your mind: · She had a picture of him in her mind - tall, blond and handsome.at the back of your mind (=when an idea is not very clear or certain): · At the back of my mind I had the funny feeling that I'd met her somewhere before.go/run through your mind (=): · The same thoughts kept going through my mind and I couldn't get to sleep.turn something over in your mind (=think about something carefully): · It was an interesting idea. Jeff turned it over in his mind on the way to work.what's going on in somebody's mind (=what somebody is thinking): · I never know what's going on in her mind.your mind wanders (=you cannot make yourself concentrate on a particular subject , and you start thinking about other things): · The teacher talked on and on and my mind began to wander.
your ability to think and the way that you think: · My brain worked fast as I tried to decide what to do.· Branson has an excellent business brain.
someone's mind - use this especially when talking about the thoughts that are in someone's mind: · Dan's head was full of big ideas.what's going on in somebody's head (=what somebody is thinking): · She's so quiet - you never quite know what's going on inside her head.
the part of your mind that influences the way you think or behave, even though you may not realize this is happening, and which makes you have dreams: the subconscious: · When you go to sleep it is only the conscious mind that shuts down. The subconscious cannot do so.somebody's subconscious: · Our subconscious plays tricks with us sometimes and we may imagine that we are seeing things such as ghosts.
formal someone's mind, especially their feelings and attitudes, and the way these influence their character: · The need for love is deeply buried in our psyche.· the fragile psyche of a teenagerthe human/female/American etc psyche (=the typical psyche of a human, female etc): · Freud has provided an account of the human psyche's different stages of development.
WORD SETSagoraphobia, nounagoraphobic, noun-aholic, suffixanalyse, verbanalysis, nounanalyst, nounanorexia, nounantidepressant, nounautism, nounbattle fatigue, nounbehaviourism, nounbreakdown, nounbulimia, nouncatharsis, nouncertify, verbclaustrophobia, nouncognition, nouncognitive, adjectivecomplex, nouncompulsive, adjectivecounsel, verbcounselling, nouncrazed, adjectivecrazy, adjectivedefence mechanism, noundelusion, noundemented, adjectivedementia, noundenial, noundepressed, adjectivedepression, noundepressive, adjectivedepressive, nounderanged, adjectivediminished responsibility, noundipsomaniac, noundisordered, adjectivedisturbance, noundysfunctional, adjectiveeating disorder, nouneccentricity, nounego, nounelectric shock therapy, nounemotional, adjectiveexhibitionism, nounextra-sensory perception, nounfixation, nounFreudian, adjectiveFreudian slip, noungroup therapy, nounhallucinate, verbhydrophobia, nounhypnosis, nounhypnotic, adjectivehypnotise, verbhypnotist, nounhypnotize, verbid, nouninferiority complex, nouninsane, adjectiveinsanity, nounkleptomania, nounkleptomaniac, nounlibido, nounlinear, adjectivemaladjusted, adjectivemania, nounmanic, adjectivemanic depression, nounmanic depressive, nounmental, adjectivemental age, nounmental hospital, nounmentally handicapped, adjectivemidlife crisis, nounmisogynist, nounmixed up, adjectivenerve, nounnervous, adjectivenervous breakdown, nounnervous system, nounneural, adjectiveneuro-, prefixneurology, nounneurosis, nounneurotic, adjectiveobsessive, nounoedipal, adjectiveOedipus complex, nounpadded cell, nounparanoia, nounparanoid, adjectivepathological, adjectivepathology, nounpatterning, nounphallic, adjectivephobia, noun-phobia, suffixphrenology, nounpost-traumatic stress disorder, nounprecognition, nounpsyche, nounpsychiatric, adjectivepsychiatrist, nounpsychiatry, nounpsychic, adjectivepsycho, nounpsycho-, prefixpsychoanalysis, nounpsychoanalyst, nounpsychoanalyze, verbpsychobabble, nounpsychodrama, nounpsychokinesis, nounpsychological, adjectivepsychologist, nounpsychology, nounpsychopath, nounpsychosis, nounpsychosomatic, adjectivepsychotherapy, nounpsychotic, adjectivepyromaniac, nounrepression, nounresidential treatment facility, nounRorschach test, nounsadism, nounsadist, nounsafety valve, nounsanity, nounscar, nounscar, verbschizoid, adjectiveschizophrenia, nounschizophrenic, adjectiveschizophrenic, nounscrewed up, adjectivesocialize, verbsociopath, nounsplit personality, nounsubconscious, adjectivesubconscious, nounsuggestion, nounsuperego, nountherapy, nountorment, nountrance, nountrauma, nounvoyeur, nounwell-adjusted, adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Freud’s account of the human psycheCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
someone’s mind, or their deepest feelings, which control their attitudes and behaviour: Freud’s account of the human psyche· The human psyche is so pathetically insecure that we would rather die of lung cancer than confront an uncomfortable situation.· Not just his psyche, but the human psyche throughout time.· They also hint that perhaps there is some hidden carrot symbol hidden deep in the human psyche.· Instead we have quite enthusiastically lapsed into a chronic dualism where the whole emotional side of the human psyche has been suppressed.· Upon a wilderness of ocean the human psyche makes a reckoning with its own essential loneliness.· While this may be true, we should remember the fragility and plasticity of the human psyche.· We certainly need to continue our investigations; to advance ideas; to plumb the mysterious depths of the human psyche.
· The deep-seated place of asylums in the national psyche would be difficult to break out of.· Kennedy and Nixon are less memorable for specific achievements than for what they did for our politics and national psyche.· Those three momentous days still play a powerful role in the national psyche.· He has comforted the national psyche without involving big new bureaucracies.
Freud’s account of the human psyche A characteristic of the feminine psyche is to seek approval from others.