psychonaut

noun

psy·​cho·​naut ˈsī-kō-ˌnȯt 

plural psychonauts

informal

: someone who takes psychedelic drugs (such as LSD or psilocybin) especially to explore altered states of consciousness

… as any old psychonaut can tell you, awe and wonder, are some of the main components of the psychedelic experience.

—Javier Hasse

He was also, like Leary, an enthusiastic "psychonaut," embracing a variety of consciousness-expanding drugs in a metaphysical quest to understand the greater meaning of being.

—The Daily Gleaner (New Brunswick, Canada)

She was a beatnik and a psychonaut, deeply involved in the counterculture movement …

—wickedlocal.com

Examples of psychonaut in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The psychonauts have a deep affection for the models, and the Summit Bridge exercise moved Nostalgebraist to publish an indignant post. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

psycho- + -naut (as in aquanaut, astronaut)

First Known Use

1978, in the meaning defined above