noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
US:/ˌskɪtsəˈfɹiniə/
US:/ˌskɪtsəˈfɹɛniə/
UK:/skɪtsə(ʊ)ˈfɹiːniə/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:S K IH2 T S AH0 F R IY1 N IY0 AH0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A psychiatric diagnosis denoting a persistent, often chronic, mental illness characterised by abnormal perception, thinking, behavior and emotion, often marked by delusions.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: medicine, pathology, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A condition in which a person is supposed to have several distinct personalities; dissociative identity disorder.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, proscribed, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Any condition in which disparate or mutually exclusive activities coexist; a lack of decision between options.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
From German Schizophrenie (coined by Eugen Bleuler), from Ancient Greek σχίζω (skhízō, “to split”) + φρήν (phrḗn, “mind, heart, diaphragm”) + English -ia. A combination of schizo- + -phrenia.
Across languages
Translations
154 source translations are retained for this English entry.