psychiatry

noun

psy·​chi·​a·​try sə-ˈkī-ə-trē 

sī-

: a branch of medicine that deals with mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders

psychiatric

ˌsī-kē-ˈa-trik 

adjective

psychiatrically

ˌsī-kē-ˈa-tri-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Examples of psychiatry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Effect of Research as a Hobby Dr. Nathan Carroll, the chief resident of psychiatry at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, spoke with Newsweek about the psychological effects of taking on light research as a leisure activity. —Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 21 Feb. 2025

Mathias Basner, a psychiatry professor at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the Twins Study research consortium, told me that space travel causes profound structural changes in the brain. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025

Founded in 2021, Lindus Health has operated 42 trials across psychiatry, diagnostics and respiratory health. —Aaron Weitzman, Axios, 22 Jan. 2025

Connors, a social worker in the psychiatry division at the University of Maryland Children’s Hospital, specializes in psychological first aid, which includes helping communities, families, and children who have experienced traumatic mass events. —Angela Haupt, TIME, 13 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

probably from French psychiatrie, from psychiatre psychiatrist, from psych- psych- + Greek iatros physician — more at -iatry

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for psychiatry

• gayatri
• neuropsychiatry
• orthopsychiatry

Kids Definition

psychiatry

noun

psy·​chi·​a·​try sə-ˈkī-ə-trē 

sī-

: a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the mind, emotions, or behavior

psychiatric

ˌsī-kē-ˈa-trik 

adjective

Medical Definition

psychiatry

noun

psy·​chi·​a·​try -trē 

plural psychiatries

: a branch of medicine that deals with the science and practice of treating mental, emotional, or behavioral disorders especially as originating in endogenous causes or resulting from faulty interpersonal relationships