Psychosis is a severe mental state characterized by a disconnection from reality, often including delusions, hallucinations, and impaired thinking. It denotes a pathologic condition requiring clinical attention, typically within the context of a broader psychiatric disorder. The term is used in clinical and research settings as well as in general discussion of serious mental health symptoms.
"The patient experienced psychosis during the acute phase of schizophrenia."
"Treatment aimed at reducing psychosis helped restore some level of daily functioning."
"Emergency services were called due to a sudden psychosis episode."
"Researchers are exploring links between psychosis and early brain development."
Psychosis derives from the Greek word psyche (mind, soul) and -osis (a suffix indicating a state, condition, or process). The term enters English in the late 19th to early 20th century through medical and psychiatric discourse, paralleling other -osis terms like psychopathy and neurosis. The root psyche references the mind or soul, while -osis signals a process or condition, often pejorative in older usage but now diagnostic. Historically, psychosis was used to describe severe mental disorders with altered perception and thought, later refined into diagnostic categories such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder with psychotic features, and schizoaffective disorders. The concept evolved from late 19th-century clinical observation to contemporary DSM-5 and ICD-11 classifications, focusing on symptom clusters (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized thinking) rather than a single disease, reflecting advances in neuroscience, pharmacology, and psychosocial understanding.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Psychosis" and can often be used interchangeably.
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Words that rhyme with "Psychosis"
-sis sounds
Practice with these rhyming pairs to improve your pronunciation consistency:
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Pronounce as /saɪˈkoʊsɪs/ (US). The stress falls on the second syllable: sy-KO-sis. Start with a long I sound in the first syllable, then a stressed long O in the second, and a short /ɪ/ followed by /s/ and final /ɪs/. Mouth: start with a wide jaw for /aɪ/, then raise the tongue for /oʊ/, finish with a light /s/ before a crisp /ɪs/. Listen for similarity to ‘psy-CHO-sis’ in many medical pronunciations.”,
Two frequent errors: 1) Misplacing stress, saying /saɪˈsɔsɪs/ or /ˈsaɪkoʊsɪs/ with the wrong syllable emphasized. Correction: keep primary stress on the second syllable: /saɪˈkoʊsɪs/. 2) Blurring the /koʊ/ into a quick /ko/ or mispronouncing the long /oʊ/ as a short /o/. Correction: hold the long vowel in the stressed syllable, ensure a clear /oʊ/ glide before the final /sɪs/.”,
In US English it’s /saɪˈkoʊsɪs/, with rhotic /r/ absent and /koʊ/ as a clear long diphthong. UK English tends to /saɪˈkəʊsɪs/, with a non-rhotic /r/ and a clipped /əʊ/ in the second syllable. Australian English is similar to UK, often with very rounded /əʊ/ and reduced /ɪs/ ending. Across all, the second syllable bears primary stress; vowel quality shifts reflect rhoticity and vowel merging differences.”,
Because it combines a stressed long vowel on the second syllable with a sequence of consonants that follow (/koʊsɪs/), ending in /-sɪs/ which can blur in rapid speech. The shift from /koʊ/ to /sɪs/ requires precise tongue control to avoid turning the /s/ into a z-like sound or swallowing the syllable boundary. Also, the initial /saɪ/ blends quickly, so you must not shorten the first syllable. Practicing the diphthong and final /s/ cluster helps clarity.”,
Unique aspect is the distinct secondary stress on the middle syllable and a well-formed /koʊ/ (or /kəʊ/ in UK) that must not be reduced to /kə/; the ending /sɪs/ should be crisp and not merged with the previous /s/ sound. Also ensure you release the vowel in the stressed syllable before the /s/ transition to maintain a clean syllable boundary. The exact primary feature is the /koʊ/ vowel in the stressed syllable.”,
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