psychopathology

American  

[sahy-koh-puh-thol-uh-jee] / ˌsaɪ koʊ pəˈθɒl ə dʒi /

noun

1. the science or study of mental disorders.

2. the conditions and processes of a mental disorder.

3. a pathological deviation from normal or efficient behavior; psychosis.

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psychopathology British  

/ ˌsaɪkəʊˌpæθəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, ˌsaɪkəʊpəˈθɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the scientific study of mental disorders

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Other Word Forms

• psychopathologic adjective
• psychopathological adjective
• psychopathologist noun

Etymology

Origin of psychopathology

First recorded in 1840–50; psycho- + pathology

Example Sentences

Author Amitav Ghosh has correctly given this ailment of imaginative deficiency a name, redolent of psychopathology: Our inability to apprehend the reality of ecological catastrophe is nothing less than “derangement.”

From Seattle Times • Jul. 27, 2022

Maybe, even, they are stand-ins, part of the psychopathology of everyday life.

From Washington Post • Jul. 26, 2022

Often, these contradictions are rationalized by framing them as the product of psychopathology.

From Slate • May 18, 2022

These psychologists urge their colleagues to recognize climate-related grief and fear as a rational response to actual events, not as a manifestation of an underlying psychopathology such as anxiety or depression.

From Salon • Nov. 24, 2021

It is our thesis that the psychopathology of such murderers forms at least one specific syndrome which we shall describe.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote