psychic

/ˈsaɪkɪk/

//ˈsaɪkɪk// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"psychic" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“psychic” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #9,653. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#9,653
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A person who possesses, or appears to possess, extra-sensory abilities such as precognition, clairvoyance, and telepathy, or who appears to be susceptible to paranormal or supernatural influences.

Corpus desk

Index EN-psychic · psychic · English

psychic · rank #9,653 · 12 variants · 5 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #9,653
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 5 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH Providence

Nearest frequency peer: Providence (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “psychic”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “psychic” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

psychic vs psycho
71% similar
psychic vs psychotic
78% similar
psychic vs psych
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for psychic
PropertyValue
Headwordpsychic
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈsaɪkɪk/
Letters7
Frequency rank#9,653
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs5
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “psychic”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).psychiclands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “Providence” (#9,652), “psychologist” (#9,654), “primitive” (#9,651). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “psychic” is #9,653. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around psychic (IPA /ˈsaɪkɪk/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #9,653 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for psychic, with forms such as "ppsychic", "pscyhic", and "pssychic". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 5 confusable-pair relationships, "psycho", "psychotic", "psych", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Ancient Greek ψυχικός (psukhikós, “relative to the soul, spirit, mind”). Earlier referred to as "psychical"; or from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul, mind, psyche”). First appeared (as substantive) 1871 and first records 1895. The correct English form is psychic, spelled P-S-Y-C-H-I-C.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who possesses, or appears to possess, extra-sensory abilities such as precognition, clairvoyance, and telepathy, or who appears to be susceptible to paranormal or supernatural influences.
  2. 2
    A person who supposedly contacts the dead; a medium.
  3. 3
    In gnostic theologian Valentinus' triadic grouping of man the second type; a person focused on intellectual reality (the other two being hylic and pneumatic).

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ψυχικός (psukhikós, “relative to the soul, spirit, mind”). Earlier referred to as "psychical"; or from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul, mind, psyche”). First appeared (as substantive) 1871 and first records 1895.

This word in other languages

médium(Français)médium(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ppsychic
  • pscyhic
  • pssychic
  • psycchic
  • psychci
  • psychhic
  • psychicc
  • psycihc
  • psyhcic
  • psyychic
  • pyschic
  • spychic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of psychic - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

ppsychic1pscyhic2pssychic1psycchic1psychci2psychhic1psychicc1psycihc2
Edit distance from "psychic"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "psychic"?
"psychic" is spelled P-S-Y-C-H-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈsaɪkɪk/.
What does "psychic" mean?
As a noun, "psychic" means: A person who possesses, or appears to possess, extra-sensory abilities such as precognition, clairvoyance, and telepathy, or who appears to be susceptible to paranormal or supernatural influences.
What words are commonly confused with "psychic"?
"psychic" is commonly confused with "psycho", "psychotic", "psych". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "psychic"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "psychic" is /ˈsaɪkɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "psychic"?
From Ancient Greek ψυχικός (psukhikós, “relative to the soul, spirit, mind”). Earlier referred to as "psychical"; or from Ancient Greek ψυχή (psukhḗ, “soul, mind, psyche”). First appeared (as substantive) 1871 and first records 1895. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "psychic", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

rivalry#9,664royalty#9,666Natalie#9,638sausage#9,668

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

retiring12 variantsskeleton12 variantsmessaging12 variantsvicinity12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list