psychological
Americanadjective
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of or relating to psychology.
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pertaining to the mind or to mental phenomena as the subject matter of psychology.
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of, pertaining to, dealing with, or affecting the mind, especially as a function of awareness, feeling, or motivation.
psychological play;
psychological effect.
adjective
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of or relating to psychology
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of or relating to the mind or mental activity
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having no real or objective basis; arising in the mind
his backaches are all psychological
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affecting the mind
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of psychological
First recorded in 1785–95; psycholog(y) + -ical
Compare meaning
How does psychological compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Psychological means mental or emotional rather than physical. After a shock, your problems, and even your physical pain, stem from psychological sources rather than any bodily ailment. The word psychological is used to describe things that are primarily mental or emotional, but it can also be used when referring to the field of psychology. You might be interested in studying the psychological issues of teen and childhood in college. Watch out if someone uses psychological warfare on you. He or she uses your own emotions to attack you as when someone tries to guilt you into doing something.
Vocabulary lists containing psychological
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954)
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myPerspectives 8.1
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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Webb eschews the Wagnerian method of film scoring—dark motifs for the evil characters, bright tunes for the good ones—in favor of fluid, shifting psychological music, a forerunner of Hitchcock’s scores with Bernard Herrmann.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
The move to 7% is a key psychological threshold for the housing market, Bell said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
With many physical, emotional and psychological variables in play, researchers admit it’s hard to pinpoint where DNA ends and drive begins when it comes to sibling dynamics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence connecting psychological well-being with cardiovascular protection.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 1, 2026
“That’s what gets me the most. If they’re not going to provide additional psychological support, at least warn the parents ahead of time!”
From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
