Added 7 October 2026
psychedelic
/ˈsaɪ.kəˌdɛl.ɪk/ adjective
In Latin: none, coined in 1917 Coined: 1917, by Humphry Osmond Wiktionary
adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about psychedelic at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
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Producing distorted sensory perceptions and feelings or altered states of awareness or sometimes states resembling psychosis.
psychedelic drugs like psilocybin and mescaline
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Having the vivid colors and bizarre patterns associated with psychedelic states.
a psychedelic painting
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(of a mental state) characterized by intense and distorted perceptions and hallucinations and feelings of euphoria or sometimes despair.
a psychedelic experience
Origin
From Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “mind, soul”) + δῆλος (dêlos, “manifest, visible”) + English -ic (prefix forming adjectives with the sense ‘of or pertaining to’), coined by the English psychiatrist Humphry Osmond (1917–2004) in a 1956 letter to Aldous Huxley.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)