psy op

Meanings

1. 1nouncountablemilitary

   A planned effort, often by a military or government, to influence how people think or feel using messages, rumors or images.

   Grammar: Short for psychological operation; usually plural in news stories: psy ops.

   Patterns

   • a psy op against someone

   Leaflets dropped over the town were part of a psy op to lower morale.

   Analysts said the fake social media accounts looked like a coordinated psy op.

   The general ordered a psy op aimed at convincing the enemy that reinforcements were coming.

2. 2nouncountableinformalfigurative

   Any clever trick or campaign meant to manipulate what people believe, often used suspiciously or jokingly.

   Grammar: Informal and often used for rumor: it's all a psy op.

   Patterns

   • a psy op to do something

   My brother swears the diet ad was a psy op to make us feel guilty.

   The surprise sale was a psy op to get everyone into the store.

Word forms

Common combinations

launch a psy op

The group launched a psy op to spread doubt.

military psy op

A military psy op can include radio broadcasts.

psy op campaign

The psy op campaign ran for months.

part of a psy op

Some claimed the story was part of a psy op.

psy ops unit

A psy ops unit prepared the messages.

Synonyms and how they differ

propaganda

It means the messaging itself, while a psy op is the planned operation that uses it.

disinformation

It is specifically false information spread on purpose; a psy op may also use true but selective facts.

influence operation

It is the modern, official term and sounds more neutral.

Word family

psychological adjective

relating to the mind

psychology noun

the study of mind and behavior

operation noun

an organized activity

operative noun

a trained agent or worker

Commonly confused: psy op or psyche?

Practice

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