Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

psychobabble

/ˈsaɪkəʊbab(ə)l/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.78 in modern English

Syllables: psy-cho-bab-ble
IPA: /ˈsaɪkəʊbab(ə)l/

28

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

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

Derogatory; Uncountable

verb

To speak or converse using this kind of jargon.

Intransitive verb

Example Sentences

"We are living, practically no one has to be reminded, in a therapeutic age. The sign in every storefront reads: "Psychobabble spoken here"."
"The psychological patter of the '70s is as inescapable as Muzak and just as numbing: Are you relating? Going through heavy changes? In touch with yourself and doing your own thing? Are you up front, or just hung up and uptight? Boston Writer R.D. (for Richard Dean) Rosen calls it psychobabble, and in his new book by that title (Atheneum, $8.95) sees America awash in soggy therapeutic clichés."
"He didn't want to hear any new-age psychobabble, like " find your inner peace.""

Etymology

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

Word Breakdown

Prefix: psycho

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˈsaɪkəʊbab(ə)l/

Usage

Inflected Forms

psychobabbles (present, singular) psychobabbling (participle, present) psychobabbled (participle, past) psychobabbled (past)

Derived Forms

psychobabblish psychobabbly psychobabbler

Rhymes With

scrabble rabble babel babble dabble schnabel drabble kabel vrabel rabel crabill schabel

Questions

How do you pronounce psychobabble?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsaɪkəʊbab(ə)l/.
What does psychobabble mean?: The jargon of psychology and psychoanalysis, especially when used pretentiously to discuss mundane issues.
Where does psychobabble come from?: From psycho- + babble. First use appears c. 1975 in an article by R.D. Rosen. See cite below.

How to pronounce psychobabble

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