psychobabble

American  

[sahy-koh-bab-uhl] / ˈsaɪ koʊˌbæb əl /

noun

1. writing or talk using jargon from psychiatry or psychotherapy without particular accuracy or relevance.

---

psychobabble British  

/ ˈsaɪkəʊˌbæbəl /

noun

1. informal the jargon of psychology, esp as used and popularized in various types of psychotherapy

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• psychobabbler
  noun

Etymology

Origin of psychobabble

psycho- + babble; popularized by a book of the same title (1977) by U.S. journalist Richard D. Rosen (born 1949)

Example Sentences

It may sound like esoteric psychobabble, or an overemphasis on something that should be inherent in players.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 7, 2019

In the end, no such censorship was required; the American contestants were uniformly chaste and polite, their speech sanitized psychobabble cultivated to convey self-awareness, depth, and respect for women.

From The New Yorker • Aug. 10, 2019

Biological theories of and treatments for the brain, notably drugs like Thorazine, lithium, Valium and Prozac, displaced Freudian psychobabble and transformed psychiatry into a truly scientific discipline.

From Scientific American • Aug. 3, 2019

We Americans simply adore this entire transactional/Return-on-Invement psychobabble even when it comes to the most intimate details of our lives: the love in a marriage/partnership.

From New York Times • Feb. 10, 2018

“Enough with the psychobabble, MC Dr. Phil. Let’s talk counterinsurgency.”

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green