psychologist
Americannoun
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psychologists
plural
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a specialist in psychology.
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Philosophy. an adherent to or advocate of psychologism.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of psychologist
First recorded in 1720–30; psycholog(y) + -ist
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How does psychologist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A psychologist is a scientist who studies the mind. Unless specified, you should assume the psychologist studies the human mind — as opposed to, for example, a pet psychologist. A psychologist can be a researcher, who makes abstract studies of mental disorders and their treatments. Or, a psychologist can be licensed to see and treat patients, offering therapy for mental conditions or behavioral issues. The word comes from two Latin root, psyche, meaning "soul, mind, and spirit," and logia, meaning "the study of." Unlike a psychiatrist, a psychologist does not have a medical degree, and therefore cannot prescribe medication.
Vocabulary lists containing psychologist
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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.
See Examples For:
Educational and child psychologist Dr Sasha Hall, who's mum to a three-year-old boy and five-year-old girl, says the first thing to understand is that this scenario is "completely normal".
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
"Sometimes I don't recognize my country," the retired psychologist said quietly.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
The actor shared a spiritual message from author and psychologist Gerry Hussey through Instagram Stories.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Tajuddeen Williams, a social psychologist who consulted with Google last year to help train Gemini, said he tries to keep his children away from it as much as possible.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Nana took me to a psychologist 3 years ago.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
They plan to keep them free and eventually share the data with neuroscientists and psychologists.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
There’s a lack of programs — we need more therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists and doctors who are versed in helping people who are deaf.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
To that end, we asked some experts—human-resources chiefs, psychologists, academics, employees and more—for their practical, truly executable, suggestions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
ProPublica reported that in January, the department had around 500 fewer psychologists and psychiatrists than it had at the same time last year.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
The problem with this view is that the closer psychologists look at the careers of the gifted, the smaller the role innate talent seems to play and the bigger the role preparation seems to play.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
