psyched out
Got inside head
Psyched out describes being unnerved or intimidated, usually by an opponent's tactics or one's own anxiety: He got psyched out before the interview and bombed it.
To psych someone out is to deliberately undermine their confidence through mind games or swagger: She tried to psych out her opponent with trash talk.
The phrase draws on psych as mental manipulation.
- intimidatedMade fearful by threat
- worriedTroubled by uncertainty
- unnervedMade anxious or unsettled
- mind gamesPsychological manipulation tactics
- head gamesPsychological manipulation tactics
flustered · trash talk · second-guessing · panic · shake · rattled · anxious · freeze · deer in headlights · disconcerted · overwhelmed · self-doubt · intimidation tactics · performance anxiety · self-sabotage · demoralized · daunted · sweat
psyched outunmoved
Not stirred physically/emotionally
unaffected · impervious · encouraged · motivated · inspired
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