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psych-out
[ sahyk-out ]
noun
- an act or instance of seeking to intimidate, make nervous, mislead, etc., in order to gain an advantage:
Trash talk and psych-outs are common along the starting line of a horse race.
- an intense, uncontrolled emotional reaction, or something that causes such a reaction:
The song is an eight-minute psych-out that exudes passion and never loses its sense of power pop.
adjective
- involving or making use of intimidation, manipulation, etc., to gain an advantage over someone or get them to do something:
He says hypnosis is just a psych-out method to get you to convince yourself that you don't need to smoke.
verb phrase
- psych out [sahyk , out],
- to intimidate, make nervous, mislead, etc., in order to gain an advantage over:
You can bluff, chat, and try to psych out the other players in online poker just like you can in person.
- to have or cause to have an intense and uncontrolled emotional reaction; freak out:
I overhear too many parents psych out their kids with outdated information about getting a tooth filled.
- to figure out, especially in a way that involves psychology:
I won't say I think like a cat, but I can kind of psych out how a cat would behave in a certain situation.
psych out
verb
- to guess correctly the intentions of (another); outguess
- to analyse or solve (a problem, etc) psychologically
- to intimidate or frighten
- intr, adverb to lose control psychologically; break down
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Word History and Origins
Origin of psych-out1
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