Antipsychotics

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A class of medications used to manage symptoms associated with severe mental health disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
2. Pharmaceuticals designed to alleviate psychotic symptoms, including hallucinations and delusions, in various psychiatric conditions
3. Medications employed in treating mental health issues that mitigate severe symptoms by altering neurotransmitter activity in the brain

Etymology: The plural form "antipsychotics" simply names the class of drugs, so the history belongs to its singular, "antipsychotic." That word is a plain compound: "anti-", from the Greek "anti" meaning "against" or "opposite to," joined to "psychotic," which describes psychosis, a severe mental disorder marked by a break from reality. Put together, the term means something that works against psychosis. The "anti-" element comes down from ancient Greek, where "anti" was a common prefix and preposition meaning "against," "opposite," or "in place of." English adopted it widely and attached it freely to existing words, which is why it appears in so many modern coinages. "Psychotic" likewise draws on Greek roots, "psȳchē" (mind, soul) and the suffix for a condition, and entered English as a medical term in the modern period. Because the word is built from familiar parts rather than invented as a single new item, its meaning is transparent: a drug that counters the symptoms of psychosis.

Synonyms: antipsychotic drugs