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

In total, about 160 small slices of Donnie's brain and spinal cord were kept in the archives of the Munich research centre - later renamed the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry - ever since.

From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026

The findings were published in The Lancet Psychiatry, a leading journal in the field.

From Science Daily • May 4, 2026

“She was a good mom and loved her girls,” said Coplen, who filed a lawsuit against Sage Psychiatry and Blough alleging wrongful death.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

The American Psychological Association, American Medical Association, and American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry have all condemned conversion practices as dangerous and unsupported by evidence.

From Slate • Mar. 11, 2026

Psychiatry does not apply the technical methods of psychoanalysis, and neglects to look for any significance in the content of the obsession.

From A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Freud, Sigmund