schizoid

comparative more schizoid · superlative most schizoid

1. Characterized by social withdrawal and emotional coldness or flattened affectivity.

   1 more example

   Abstract symbol systems, such as mathematics, are especially valuable for object-seeking for schizoid personalities. By means of such symbolizations, object contact may be sought and obtained, while at the same time a psychological distance may be maintained between self and other; it is virtually impossible to have a personal relationship and at the same time to maintain such distance.

   1974, Thomas S. Szasz, M.D., chapter 8, in The Myth of Mental Illness, →ISBN, page 135

2. archaicSchizophrenic.
3. figurativelyoffensivesometimesBehaving as if one has more than one personality; wildly changeable or unpredictable.

   Babits himself never fully lived up to this program; indeed, the declaration itself shows his schizoid attitude toward poetry: he wants to say out loud that he does not want to be heard.

   1972, Roy Temple House, Ernst Erich Noth, Books Abroad, volume 46, page 32

   1 more example

   I continued to live a schizoid existence—working as a schoolteacher, molding myself into what I imagined was a traditional male image […] — but I couldn't fool myself. I was a queer in lumberjack drag.

   1991 February 11, Eric R. Rofes, “My Life As A Queer”, in Gay Community News, volume 18, number 29, page 10

plural schizoids

1. human sciencesSomeone with schizoid personality disorder.
2. archaicSomeone with schizophrenia.