psychic

Name: psychic, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˈsaɪkɪk/

//ˈsaɪkɪk// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

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: 46,516
“P” headwords: 12
tracked misspellings: 5
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 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.

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
Property	Value
Headword	psychic
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˈsaɪkɪk/
Letters	7
Frequency rank	#9,653
Misspellings tracked	12
Confusable pairs	5
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “psychic” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). psychic lands here:

#9,653

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). 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 46,516 “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
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
A person who supposedly contacts the dead; a medium.
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.

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"?

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.

Using “psychic”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is P-S-Y-C-H-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˈsaɪkɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “psycho” - see the side-by-side comparison. psychic vs psycho
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Same frequency band

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.