psychiatry

American  

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

noun

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

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

Etymology

Origin of psychiatry

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

Example Sentences

Chorpita said the grant will be split into three parts: the psychology department, which will oversee the new minor; the school of social welfare; and child-focused fellowships in the psychiatry and behavioral sciences department.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 2026

The study was published in Molecular Psychiatry, one of the leading journals in psychiatry and part of the Nature publishing group.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026

“It’s what makes psychiatry so frustrating, but the mystery of it is what’s so fascinating.”

From Slate • Jan. 30, 2026

“They simulate human relationships,” said Adrian Preda, a psychiatry professor at the University of California, Irvine.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 28, 2025

Wiener has proposed, on intuitive grounds, that defects and misinterpretations in such a communication system may be an unexplored territory for psychiatry.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas