psychoanalysis
Americannoun
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a systematic structure of theories concerning the relation of conscious and unconscious psychological processes.
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a technical procedure for investigating unconscious mental processes and for treating psychoneuroses.
noun
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Psychoanalysis is sometimes simply called analysis.
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Etymology
Origin of psychoanalysis
From the German word Psychoanalyse, dating back to 1905–10. See psycho-, analysis
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How does psychoanalysis compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Psychoanalysis is a type of long-term therapy that explores the origins of a patient's mental state. When most people think of psychoanalysis they think of Sigmund Freud, who first developed it at the end of the 19th century. It's a type of psychotherapy that uses stories from childhood, dreams, free association, and other techniques to get at a person's subconscious, or the thoughts and fears hidden deep inside the mind. Psychoanalysis is sometimes described as "talk therapy." The word is rooted in the Greek psychē, or "soul."
Vocabulary lists containing psychoanalysis
The Catcher in the Rye
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Body Language: Psych ("Mind")
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Psychology
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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:
The authors say neuroscience and psychoanalysis are describing many of the same underlying mental processes, but from different perspectives.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 1, 2026
The 115-minute film by British directors David Tryhorn and Ben Nicholas features extensive interviews with the footballer-turned-actor in what sometimes resembles an extended session of psychoanalysis.
From Barron's ● May 16, 2026
I was drawn to psychoanalysis and understanding people’s minds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 12, 2026
To hear them engaging in psychoanalysis you could be forgiven for thinking that they've spent as much prep-time for Rome in therapy as they have on the training ground.
From BBC ● Feb. 6, 2026
“About what? About Freud? The one time I mentioned a Freudian theory in class, all I got out of Appleman was that dogmatic psychoanalysis was related to psychology as magic was related to science. ‘
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
There seem to be two psychoanalyses of male “feminists” accused of misconduct.
From Slate ● Jan. 17, 2025
The true-blue Freudians have only scorn for what Dr. Brill calls "societies and individuals who offer the public better, cheaper and quicker psychoanalyses."
From Time Magazine Archive
Marmor points out that even Freud complained that some psychoanalyses seemed interminable and made the patient emotionally dependent on the analyst.
From Time Magazine Archive
From his long experience in New York City, Dr. Wertham was convinced that eight out of ten psychoanalyses should not have been started, and that six out of ten were more harmful than helpful.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
