psychoanalytic

American  

[sahy-koh-an-l-it-ik] / ˌsaɪ koʊˌæn lˈɪt ɪk /

Also psychoanalytical

adjective

1. involving or using psychoanalysis, a system of theories concerning the relationship between conscious and unconscious psychological processes.

   This course covers many different methodologies, including sociological, psychoanalytic, and ethnographic approaches to literary criticism.

---

Other Word Forms

• nonpsychoanalytic
  adjective
• nonpsychoanalytical
  adjective
• postpsychoanalytic
  adjective
• nonpsychoanalytically
  adverb
• psychoanalytically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of psychoanalytic

psycho- ( def. ) + analytic ( def. )

Explanation

When you're describing a type of long-term therapy that focuses on the unconscious mind, use the adjective psychoanalytic. The original psychoanalytic practitioner was Sigmund Freud, who developed the theory known as psychoanalysis in the 1890s. A therapist who uses psychoanalytic methods might help you interpret your dreams and explore forgotten childhood events in order to find the unconscious source of your anxious feelings. Psychoanalytic theory is employed outside of psychology, too — it's been used to analyze things like literature and art. Psychoanalytic is rooted in the Greek psykhē, "the soul, mind, or spirit."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

psychoanalytic

Researchers Erik Stänicke, Bendik Hovet, Line Indrevoll Stänicke, and colleagues from the Department of Psychology argue that this framework closely resembles long standing psychoanalytic ideas about how people experience and interpret the world.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 1, 2026

Mr. O’Connor’s involving novel, which continues into the 1970s, is about the inadequacy of the psychoanalytic practice to confront the collective psychosis of 20th-century history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

The man card could not be more explicit from a psychoanalytic perspective in the story I tell.

From Salon ● Mar. 18, 2024

Dr. Roland also wrote plays and sometimes wrote psychoanalytic interpretations of plays by others.

From New York Times ● Aug. 2, 2023

In terms of psychoanalytic theory, it had very little to do with the human mind.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok