psychiatry

American  

[si-kahy-uh-tree, sahy-] / sɪˈkaɪ ə tri, saɪ- /

noun

• psychiatries
  plural

1. the practice or science of diagnosing and treating mental disorders.

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psychiatry British  

/ saɪˈkaɪətrɪ /

noun

1. the branch of medicine concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness

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psychiatry Scientific  

/ sĭ-kī′ə-trē /

1. The branch of medicine that deals with the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental and emotional disorders.

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psychiatry Cultural  

1. The medical science that studies and treats mental illness and mental maladjustment. Psychiatrists treat mental disorders; psychologists study mental activities, whether healthy or disordered. In the United States, psychiatrists usually hold the degree of doctor of medicine (M.D.) and may prescribe medication for their patients.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• psychiatrist
  noun
• nonpsychiatric
  adjective
• psychiatric
  adjective
• psychiatrical
  adjective
• psychiatrically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• psychiatries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of psychiatry

First recorded in 1840–50; psych- + -iatry

Explanation

If you study psychiatry, you're studying a branch of medicine helps people with mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders. With the correct diagnosis and treatment, psychiatry can help people with mental disorders live healthy and productive lives. First used in the 19th century, the noun psychiatry originates from the Middle Latin word psychiatria, meaning "a healing of the soul," which traces back to the Greek word psykhe, meaning "mind," and iatreia, meaning "healing, care." Someone who practices psychiatry focuses on healing the soul — or the mind — of those suffering from mental illness. Various treatments include medication and therapy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

psychiatry

Veerle Bergink, a professor of psychiatry and the director of the Mount Sinai Women's Mental Health Center, is among the people working diligently to get postpartum psychosis included in the DSM-5.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

As Justin Garson writes in “The Madness Pill: One Doctor’s Quest to Understand Schizophrenia,” the effect on psychiatry was like “the Copernican revolution in physics.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Regret is often an internal signal that a behavior was inconsistent with our goals or values, says J. Kim Penberthy, a professor of psychiatry and neurobehavioral sciences at the University of Virginia.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026

Many of her own patients came only after first visiting indigenous healers, Tan said, viewing psychiatry as a "last resort".

From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026

At the time, psychiatry was still a relatively new field.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield