psychopathic personality
1
9.0
- noun
- /saɪˈkoʊpæθɪk pɜrˈsənəlɪti/
- Archaic
:
personalidad psicopática
- Understanding the traits of a psychopathic personality can help in diagnosing antisocial behavior.
- offenders with psychopathic personality
Examples
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Many criminals exhibit a psychopathic personality, showing no remorse for their actions.
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Dictionary.com defines a sociopath as "a person with a psychopathic personality whose behavior is antisocial, often criminal, and who lacks a sense of moral responsibility or social conscience."
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Steve, can we call this what it really is? It's not "mendacity"; Mittens is a psychopathic personality.
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Have you ever been judged to be afflicted with a psychopathic personality, other mental illness, or defects?
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Meles Zenawi is a truly depraved man with a psychopathic personality.
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NOTE: In the 1830s, this disorder was called "moral insanity." By 1900, it was changed to "psychopathic personality."
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But with the direction agencies are going, with the lack of accountability we see, and with the increasing militarism connected to the drug war, I am afraid these agencies are becoming far more hospitable to psychopathic personalities.
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Research suggests that individuals with a psychopathic personality are more likely to engage in violent behavior.
Synonyms
8
9.6
A serious mental condition where a person often harms others, feels no guilt, and acts boldly
4
9.2
A condition where a person lacks empathy and ignores social rules
2
6.5
A long-term mental condition where a person ignores other people's rights, feels no guilt, and acts impulsively
1
9.5
A person who does not care about others, acts without thinking, and feels no guilt
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally built: 'psychopathic' denotes having traits of psychopathy and 'personality' denotes a pattern of traits, so the combined meaning (a personality marked by psychopathic traits) is directly derivable from its parts. Although clinical in register, the logic is transparent and parallels constructions in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should grasp the general meaning.
Etymology
Psychopathic personality comes from old words meaning 'mind' and 'sickness', so psychopathic suggests a 'sick mind' and personality is the way a person thinks and behaves. That's why it describes people who feel little emotion and who may harm others 'without guilt'.