psychotic belief
- noun
- /saɪˈkɑtɪk bɪˈlif/
- Specialized
:
creencia psicótica
- The patient exhibited a psychotic belief that he was being watched by invisible agents.
Examples
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One symptom of schizophrenia can be holding a psychotic belief despite all evidence to the contrary.
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He has a psychotic belief that he is being watched.
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Challenging a psychotic belief in therapy requires sensitivity and patience.
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Many people with psychotic beliefs struggle to differentiate reality.
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His conviction that he could fly was a clear example of a psychotic belief that defied all logic.
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Despite her family's reassurance, she held onto the psychotic belief that they were plotting against her.
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The therapist explained that a psychotic belief can make a person perceive reality in a distorted way.
Synonyms
199
6.7
A strong false belief that someone still has even when it is not true
3
5.6
An idea that is not true because of wrong thinking or misunderstanding
3
7.5
A wrong idea someone has about something
1
6.5
A belief based on false information
An idea that is wrong
A false idea that many people believe
How Delusional
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is largely compositional: 'psychotic' (relating to impaired contact with reality) modifies 'belief', so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a belief arising from psychosis (i.e., pathological or delusional). However, the specific clinical nuance — persistence despite contrary evidence and its diagnostic sense — is specialized and not fully predictable from the parts for an average B1 learner.
Etymology
Psychotic belief comes from doctors seeing that sometimes a person's mind makes a very strong idea that is 'not true'. Because psychotic points to the mind being out of touch with reality and belief is a held idea, the phrase means a firm idea someone keeps even when shown evidence it is 'not true'.