psychobabble

American  

[sahy-koh-bab-uhl] / ˈsaɪ koʊˌbæb əl /

noun

1. writing or talk using jargon from psychiatry or psychotherapy without particular accuracy or relevance.

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psychobabble British  

/ ˈsaɪkəʊˌbæbəl /

noun

1. informal the jargon of psychology, esp as used and popularized in various types of psychotherapy

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• psychobabbler
  noun

Etymology

Origin of psychobabble

psycho- + babble; popularized by a book of the same title (1977) by U.S. journalist Richard D. Rosen (born 1949)

Example Sentences

Characters swing in tone between saccharine psychobabble and the ramblings of old men trying to figure out how to use their computers.

From Slate • Nov. 11, 2019

It may sound like esoteric psychobabble, or an overemphasis on something that should be inherent in players.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 7, 2019

Biological theories of and treatments for the brain, notably drugs like Thorazine, lithium, Valium and Prozac, displaced Freudian psychobabble and transformed psychiatry into a truly scientific discipline.

From Scientific American • Aug. 3, 2019

Watching ancient Greek rituals transposed so literally to a contemporary context – with contemporary psychobabble to match – can be jolting, to put it mildly.

From New York Times • Sep. 14, 2015

I see what Alicia's saying, but I'm not going to get sucked into some stupid psychobabble session.

From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements