<B>pseudo-random, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the use of computer-produced numbers in sequences which effectively imitate the actual randomness of a statistical sampling or distribution. <BR> <I>Ex. There are hundreds of ways in which computers can generate ... pseudo-random digits (Scientific American). Reduction in quantized brightness levels which must be transmitted ... to construct a TV picture can be achieved by pseudo-random coding (Science Journal).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="pseudoscience">
<B>pseudoscience, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> false or pretended science. <BR> <I>Ex. Secrecy in science and the domination of ideological motives very often bring ... a flowering of pseudoscience and very costly research and construction projects (Bulletin of Atomic Scientists).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="pseudoscientific">
<B>pseudoscientific, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with pseudoscience; falsely scientific. <BR> <I>Ex. ... a classical case of a man of genius who ventures into a branch of science for which he is ill prepared and dissipates his great energies on pseudoscientific nonsense (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="pseudoscientist">
<B>pseudoscientist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who is engaged in pseudoscience or pseudoscientific pursuits. </DL>
<A NAME="pseudoscope">
<B>pseudoscope, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an optical instrument that makes concave parts appear convex, and convex parts concave. <BR> <I>Ex. It is possible to investigate some of the limits within which the mind will accept misinformation from the eyes by means of an instrument called the pseudoscope, a binocular-like device (Scientific American).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="pseudoscopic">
<B>pseudoscopic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the pseudoscope or with pseudoscopy. adv. <B>pseudoscopically.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="pseudoscopy">
<B>pseudoscopy, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the use of the pseudoscope. <DD><B> 2. </B>the production of optical illusions similar to those caused by the pseudoscope. </DL>
<A NAME="pseudoscorpion">
<B>pseudoscorpion, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> an arachnid resembling the true scorpion but without tail or poison glands; book scorpion. </DL>
<A NAME="pseudosophistication">
<B>pseudosophistication, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> false or pretended worldliness, refinement, or urbanity; lack of true sophistication. <BR> <I>Ex. The script is full of pseudosophistication of the kind that high-school boys acquire on first looking into Krafft-Ebing (New Yorker). The pseudosophistication derived from association with generals, diplomats, and spooks most radically divorces a man from reality (John Kenneth Galbraith).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="pseudovirion">
<B>pseudovirion, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a mature virus particle or virion whose nucleic-acid component has been partly absorbed from an animal cell. </DL>
<A NAME="psf">
<B>p.s.f.</B> or <B>psf</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> pounds per square foot. </DL>
<A NAME="pshaw">
<B>pshaw, </B>interjection, noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>interj., noun </I> an exclamation expressing impatience, contempt, or dislike. <BR> <I>Ex. She writhed with impatience more than pain, and uttered "pshaws!" and "pishes!" (Thomas Hood).</I> <DD><I>v.t., v.i. </I> to say "pshaw". <BR> <I>Ex. He fretted, pished, and pshawed (Charlotte Bronte).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="psi">
<B>psi</B> (1), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding to the sound <I>s</I> or sometimes <I>ps</I> in English. </DL>
<A NAME="psi">
<B>psi</B> (2), noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the group of psychological or nonphysical phenomena, including extrasensory perception, telepathy, and clairvoyance, that forms the subject matter of parapsychology. <BR> <I>Ex. Nonphysical though psi appears to be as judged by the familiar criteria of space and time, it is, nonetheless, a natural function of the normal personality (Science).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="psi">
<B>p.s.i.</B> or <B>psi</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> pounds per square inch. <BR> <I>Ex. It takes quite a sophisticated shelter to withstand 100 psi overpressure (Harper's).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="psia">
<B>p.s.i.a.</B> or <B>psia</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> pounds per square inch absolute. </DL>
<A NAME="psig">
<B>p.s.i.g.</B> or <B>psig</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> pounds per square inch gauge. </DL>
<A NAME="psilanthropism">
<B>psilanthropism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> the doctrine or belief that Jesus was a mere man. </DL>
<A NAME="psilanthropist">
<B>psilanthropist, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a person who believes that Jesus was a mere man. </DL>
<A NAME="psilanthropy">
<B>psilanthropy, </B>noun. =psilanthropism.</DL>
<A NAME="psilocin">
<B>psilocin, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hallucinogenic substance that is related to and may be derived from psilocybin. <BR> <I>Ex. Included by name as "drugs having a potential for abuse because of their hallucinatory effect," were ... two other agents called psilocybin and psilocin (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="psilocybin">
<B>psilocybin</B> or <B>psilocybine, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a hallucinogenic substance extracted from a Mexican mushroom and since synthesized, used experimentally to induce certain delusional and psychotic states. </DL>
<A NAME="psilomelane">
<B>psilomelane, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a common ore of manganese, a hydrated oxide, occurring in smooth, black, amorphous masses, or in botryoidal or stalactitic shapes. </DL>
<A NAME="psilophyte">
<B>psilophyte, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of simple plants with upright branches that appeared in the early Paleozoic and were the first of the land plants. </DL>
<A NAME="psilophytic">
<B>psilophytic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the psilophytes. <BR> <I>Ex. psilophytic flora of the Devonian period.</I> </DL>
<A NAME="psilosis">
<B>psilosis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>the process of the hair falling out. <DD><B> 2. </B><B>=sprue.</B> </DL>
<A NAME="psion">
<B>psion, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of elementary particles related to and including the psi particle. <BR> <I>Ex. "Psions" ... are thought to possess charm as a hidden property (New York Times).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="psionic">
<B>psionic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or resembling a psion or psions. <BR> <I>Ex. By now, something like nine members and cousins of the psionic family have been catalogued, and there may be more to come (Science News).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="psiparticle">
<B>psi particle,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> an electrically neutral elementary particle with a very large mass and long lifetime, produced by the collision of an electron and a positron; J particle. <BR> <I>Ex. A new fundamental particle, the psi particle, ... was thought possibly to consist of two new quarks (John Newell).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="psittaceous">
<B>psittaceous, </B>adjective. =psittacine.</DL>
<A NAME="psittacine">
<B>psittacine, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of or having to do with a parrot or parrots. <BR> <I>Ex. Parrots and birds of the psittacine family, such as parakeets, may give psittacosis to their owners (Science News Letter).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>like a parrot. </DL>
<A NAME="psittacism">
<B>psittacism, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a parrotlike use or repetition of words without awareness or understanding of their meaning. </DL>
<A NAME="psittacosis">
<B>psittacosis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a contagious virus disease occurring especially in parrots and related birds, communicable to people, in whom it is characterized by nausea, diarrhea, chills, and high fever; parrot fever. </DL>
<A NAME="psoadic">
<B>psoadic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD> of or having to do with the psoas muscles. </DL>
<A NAME="psoas">
<B>psoas, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> either of two muscles of the loin. </DL>
<A NAME="psocid">
<B>psocid, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of insects having an oval body, a large head, and chewing mouthparts, widely distributed in North America. Psocids are related to the book louse and feed on fungi and algae. </DL>
<B>psoralea, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> any one of a group of herbs of the pea family, usually covered with glandular dots, such as the breadroot. </DL>
<A NAME="psoriasis">
<B>psoriasis, </B>noun.<DL COMPACT><DD> a chronic inflammatory skin disease characterized by dry, scaling patches and a reddened skin. </DL>
<A NAME="psoriatic">
<B>psoriatic, </B>adjective.<DL COMPACT><DD><B> 1. </B>of the nature of psoriasis. <DD><B> 2. </B>having psoriasis. </DL>
<A NAME="pss">
<B>P.SS.</B> or <B>p.ss.,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> postscripts (Latin, <I>postscripta</I>). </DL>
<A NAME="pst">
<B>P.S.T.,</B> <B>P.s.t.,</B> or <B>PST</B> (no periods),<DL COMPACT><DD> Pacific Standard Time. </DL>
<A NAME="psych">
<B>psych, </B>noun, verb.<DL COMPACT><DD><I>noun </I> (Informal.) psychology. <BR> <I>Ex. to major in psych, to take a psych course.</I> <DD><I>v.t. </I> (Slang.) <B>1. </B>to psychoanalyze or psychologize. <BR> <I>Ex. Bailey even used a hypnotist to help him pick and "psych" jurors, presumably by silent brain waves (Time).</I> <DD><B> 2. </B>to use psychology on. <BR> <I>Ex. Westrum ... plans to "psych" the Mets with inspiration, optimism, and appeals to the spirit (New York Times).</I> <DD><B> 3. </B>to trick, defeat, or overcome by the use of psychology. <BR> <I>Ex. It looked as if they had been "psyched" out of a vulnerable slam (Scotsman). Having discovered psychology, the cops induce "truth" by psyching the subject (Time).</I> <DD><B> 4. </B>to stimulate; excite. <BR> <I>Ex. We were all psyched up, and as a result when we got there the shooting started, almost as a chain reaction (Harper's).</I> <DD><I>v.i. </I> (Slang.) to break down psychologically. <BR> <I>Ex. "I boosted my bow hand, I think. I psyched out. I'll be damned if I know how" (James Dickey).</I> </DL>
<A NAME="psych">
<B>psych-,</B><DL COMPACT><DD> (combining form.) a form of <B>psycho-</B> used in some cases before vowels. </DL>
