psychodrama

noun

psy·​cho·​dra·​ma ˌsī-kō-ˈdrä-mə 

-ˈdra-

1

: an extemporized dramatization designed to afford catharsis and social relearning for one or more of the participants from whose life history the plot is abstracted

2

: a dramatic narrative or work characterized by psychological overtones

3

: an often ongoing psychological struggle

also : an expression of psychological turmoil

psychodramatic

ˌsī-kō-drə-ˈma-tik 

adjective

Examples of psychodrama in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Niemann himself sometimes seems like a method actor appearing in a psychodrama, whether by temperament or by a recognition that the mad villain is the only decent role available to him now. —Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2025

Barney, as is often the case, reveals unexpected refinement, directing a black-and-white psychodrama about his alcoholism, but Homer, who’s on the judging panel, prefers the one with the football in the groin. —Jesse David Fox, Vulture, 17 Dec. 2024

Performing an intense psychodrama about your wife’s family, night after night, must be gruelling. —Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 13 Dec. 2024

The psychodrama is naked — sometimes hard to read, at other moments approaching farce. —New York Times, 8 July 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1932, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

psychodrama

noun

psy·​cho·​dra·​ma ˌsī-kō-ˈdräm-ə, -ˈdram-; ˈsī-kō-ˌdräm-ə, -ˌdram- 

: an extemporized dramatization designed to afford catharsis and social relearning for one or more of the participants from whose life history the plot is abstracted

psychodramatic

-kō-drə-ˈmat-ik 

adjective