— schizophrenic /skit'seuh fren"ik/ , adj. , n.
/skit'seuh free"nee euh, -freen"yeuh/ , 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 ]