verb
psych
SYKE/sˈaɪk/
To make someone mentally ready or excited for something.
The athlete psychs herself up before the race with focused breathing.
Etymology
Shortened from psychoanalyze, psych moved from treating people through psychoanalysis to outsmarting or unnerving them. With up, it instead means stimulating or preparing someone mentally for an effort.
In context
the aim was to psych the men up with religious fervor to be prepared to do or die
More examples
- I need to psych myself up for the interview.
- She's psyched about starting her new job.
- This music always psychs me up for a run.
Forms
psych · psychs · psyched · psyching
Similar words
- prepare
- Means making someone ready, without necessarily building excitement.
- motivate
- Emphasizes giving someone a reason or desire to act.
- energize
- Emphasizes increasing energy rather than readiness for a particular challenge.