Standard Lemma guide

psychobabble

noun · verb · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˈsaɪkəʊbab(ə)l/
  • CMU ARPABET: S AY2 K OW0 B AE1 B AH0 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

The jargon of psychology and psychoanalysis, especially when used pretentiously to discuss mundane issues.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: derogatory, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To speak or converse using this kind of jargon.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

using language loaded with psychological terminology

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: jargon

History

Etymology

From psycho- + babble. First use appears c. 1975 in an article by R.D. Rosen. See cite below.