psychobabble
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L326073 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈsaɪkəʊbab(ə)l/
noun
Etymology: From psycho- + babble. First use appears c. 1975 in an article by R.D. Rosen. See cite below.
- The jargon of psychology and psychoanalysis, especially when used pretentiously to discuss mundane issues.
“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.”
verb
Etymology: From psycho- + babble. First use appears c. 1975 in an article by R.D. Rosen. See cite below.
- To speak or converse using this kind of jargon.