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

• psychobabbler
  noun

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Etymology

Origin of psychobabble

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

psychobabble

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

Norm and Corky, a couple for 19 years, have spent almost as long working on their relationship, with the help of magazines, books and a lot of psychobabble.

From New York Times ● Nov. 29, 2017

We both expected Ms. Antilly to spew a bunch of psychobabble at us.

From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher

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