psychopharmacology

noun

psy·​cho·​phar·​ma·​col·​o·​gy ˌsī-kō-ˌfär-mə-ˈkä-lə-jē 

: the study of the effect of drugs on the mind and behavior

psychopharmacological

ˌsī-kō-ˌfär-mə-kə-ˈlä-ji-kəl 

adjective

or less commonly psychopharmacologic

ˌsī-kō-ˌfär-mə-kə-ˈlä-jik 

psychopharmacologist

ˌsī-kō-ˌfär-mə-ˈkä-lə-jist 

noun

Examples of psychopharmacology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

About the Author Richard A. Friedman Richard A. Friedman is a professor of clinical psychiatry and the director of the psychopharmacology clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College. —Richard A. Friedman, The Atlantic, 27 Feb. 2025

His research focuses on the integration of medical and behavioral health, delirium, and psychopharmacology. —L.a. Hubilla, People.com, 8 Jan. 2025

About the Author Richard A. Friedman is a professor of clinical psychiatry and the director of the psychopharmacology clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College. —Richard A. Friedman, The Atlantic, 29 Nov. 2024

And psychopharmacology has pervaded the lives of even the highest-functioning city-dwellers. —Talya Zax, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1920, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for psychopharmacology

• anesthesiology
• epidemiology
• ethnomethodology
• ethnomusicology
• gastroenterology
• immunobiology
• immunopathology
• neuropharmacology
• neurophysiology
• neuroradiology
• otolaryngology
• paleobiology

Medical Definition

psychopharmacology

noun

psy·​cho·​phar·​ma·​col·​o·​gy ˌsī-kō-ˌfär-mə-ˈkäl-ə-jē 

plural psychopharmacologies

: the study of the effect of drugs on the mind and behavior