schizophrenic

UK: /ˌskɪtsəˈfrɛnɪk/ US: /ˌskɪtsəˈfrɛnɪk/

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

schiz•o•phren•ic /ˌskɪtsəˈfrɛnɪk/   adj. 

1. suffering from schizophrenia.
2. having or showing behavior that seems contradictory.

n. [countable]
3. one who is schizophrenic.
Also, schiz•oid /ˈskɪtsɔɪd/ .

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

schizophrenic / ˌskɪtsəʊˈfrɛnɪk/ adjective

1. exhibiting symptoms of schizophrenia
2. experiencing or maintaining contradictory attitudes, emotions, etc

noun

1. a schizophrenic person

USAGE
It is preferable to refer to a person as someone with a diagnosis of schizophrenia rather than as a schizophrenic. The general use of the word to mean 'contradictory' is also best avoided. Suitable alternatives are contradictory, inconsistent, incoherent

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

schiz•o•phre•ni•a /ˌskɪtsəˈfriniə, -ˈfrinyə/   n. [uncountable]

1. Psychiatry a severe mental disorder usually seen in a person's disorganized speech and behavior.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

schiz•o•phre•ni•a  (skit′sə frē′nē ə, -frēn′yə), n. 

1. Psychiatry Also called dementia praecox. a severe mental disorder characterized by some, but not necessarily all, of the following features: emotional blunting, intellectual deterioration, social isolation, disorganized speech and behavior, delusions, and hallucinations.
2. a state characterized by the coexistence of contradictory or incompatible elements.

• 1910–15; schizo- + -phrenia

schiz•o•phren•ic  (skit′sə fren′ik), adj., n.