different between whackjob vs psycho

English

Alternative forms

• wackjob
• whack job

Etymology

• whack(y) + job(bie)

Noun

whackjob (plural whackjobs)

1. (colloquial, derogatory) A crazy, possibly dangerous, person.
   • 1992: Elmore Leonard, Rum Punch

     "He called the guy who owns the gun shop a 'whackjob' and said he's going to take him down if it's the last thing he does."

   • 2003: Michael Graham, Redneck Nation: How the South Really Won the War

     One of America's most prominent Confederistas is Michael Hill, head whackjob at the looney League of the South—an obscure organization that has already declared southern cultural independence.

   • 2004: Mark. St. Amant, Committed: Confessions of a Fantasy Football Junkie

     Ronald Reagan took his oath as the fortieth president in American history and, three months later, took a bullet from some wackjob trying to impress the future star of The Silence of the Lambs.

Synonyms

• (crazy, possibly dangerous person): basket case, freak, loony, nutjob, nutter, screwball, wacko, wingnut

English

Alternative forms

• syko (slang)

Pronunciation

• (UK, General Australian) IPA^(key): /?sa??.k???/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /?sa??.ko??/
• Rhymes: -a?k??

Etymology 1

Clipping of psychotic and psychopath +? -o (“person with characteristic”).

Adjective

psycho (comparative more psycho, superlative most psycho)

1. (colloquial or derogatory) Psychotic, or otherwise insane.

Translations

Noun

psycho (plural psychos)

1. (derogatory, slang) A person who is psychotic or otherwise insane.

   Synonyms: freak, loony, nutcase, wacko

2. (derogatory, slang) A person who acts in a bizarre or dangerous manner.

   Synonyms: creep, freak, loose cannon, weirdo

Translations

Etymology 2

Clipping of psychology.

Noun

psycho (uncountable)

1. (informal) A class, at a college or university, in which psychology is taught.