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

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

“When talking about something designed specifically for health care, it should be trained on health care data,” says Torrey Creed, an associate professor of psychiatry researching A.I. at the University of Pennsylvania.

From Slate • Jan. 21, 2026

Since Gilberg opened his practice in 1965, psychiatry and psychotherapy have gone from highly stigmatized secrets to something people acknowledge in award show acceptance speeches.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 13, 2026

Music therapy is not new to medicine; it has long been used in psychiatry, stroke rehabilitation and palliative care.

From BBC • Nov. 24, 2025

Sigmund Freud, the founder of modern psychiatry, conceived of art primarily in terms of sublimation outside of consciousness.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson