phrenology

American  

[fri-nol-uh-jee, fre-] / frɪˈnɒl ə dʒi, frɛ- /

noun

1. a psychological theory or analytical method based on the belief that certain mental faculties and character traits are indicated by the configurations of the skull.

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phrenology British  

/ ˌfrɛnəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, frɪˈnɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. (formerly) the branch of science concerned with localization of function in the human brain, esp determination of the strength of the faculties by the shape and size of the skull overlying the parts of the brain thought to be responsible for them

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Other Word Forms

• phrenologic adjective
• phrenological adjective
• phrenologically adverb
• phrenologist noun

Etymology

Origin of phrenology

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805; phreno- + -logy

Explanation

If you think that the shape of a person's head can tell you everything you need to know about him, you believe in phrenology, or the study of skulls. Phrenology is outdated today, but it was a popular area of study in the nineteenth century. It was considered a "pseudoscience," or false science, even at the time, yet phrenology was taken seriously by some psychiatrists and neurologists, who would feel a patient's head for bumps they believed revealed aspects of personality, character, and health. The literal Greek meaning of phrenology is "mental science," from the root word phrenos, or "mind."

Example Sentences

“He had to look beautiful, like a phrenology head or an anatomical manual,” Del Toro adds.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2025

In the 19th Century, phrenology, which investigated the idea that human characteristics could be determined by the shape of the skull, was very popular in the UK and other parts of Europe.

From BBC • Oct. 29, 2022

Still, Poe wasn't immune to quackery himself, finding trendy pseudosciences like phrenology and animal magnetism perfectly sensible.

From Salon • Jul. 25, 2021

To make matters worse, FINA’s reasoning for the prohibition sounds like something straight out of an 1890s phrenology manual: The caps do not “fit the natural form of the head.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 3, 2021

The problem with the relativists is that they explain bad science and good science, phrenology and nuclear physics, in exactly the same way—advocates of ‘the strong programme’ explicitly insist on this equivalence.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton