psychedelia

noun psy·che·de·lia \ ˌsī-kə-ˈdēl-yə \

Updated on: 20 Apr 2018

Definition of psychedelia

1 : the world of people, phenomena, or items associated with psychedelic drugs

2 : psychedelic music

See psychedelia defined for English-language learners

Examples of psychedelia in a Sentence

the tie-dyed fashions of psychedelia
music ranging from jazz to disco to '60s psychedelia

Recent Examples of psychedelia from the Web

Fans who tune in to be ravished by the show’s psychedelia and then dissect it on Reddit will be satisfied, and skeptics who see Hawley as a mascot for the excesses of peak TV may still do so.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Does Legion Have a Soul?," 4 Apr. 2018
Trupa Trupa rolled in from Gdansk, Poland, with a guitar made out of what looked like a fuel can and a sound that fused East European post-punk in the mold of Plastic People of the Universe and Pulnoc with psychedelia.

— greg kot, chicagotribune.com, "SXSW goes global: Trupa Trupa's post-punk to Gato Preto's dance party in Austin," 17 Mar. 2018
Her songs look at restless travels along with the details of everyday life, in roots-rock with a nimbus of psychedelia.

— the new york times, New York Times, "22 Musicals, Plays, Concerts, Dances and Festivals You Can’t Miss This Spring," 20 Feb. 2018
The trio from Texas has built a career out of turning sounds from around the world into a unique brand of instrumental, down-tempo psychedelia.

— sebastian modak, Condé Nast Traveler, "This Band Will Curate Your In-Flight Playlist, Wherever You're Heading," 5 Feb. 2018
Beck's eclectic catalog offers a sweeping look at his influences and tastes, which include experimental rock, hip-hop, electronica, folk, funk, country, psychedelia, Latin American music and more.

— mary colurso, AL.com, "Beck to make Birmingham debut this spring at BJCC Concert Hall," 30 Jan. 2018
The result was Legion, the first non-animated superhero show to aim for the wild psychedelia of ’70s comic books.

— darren franich, EW.com, "In praise of the X-Men franchise's Weirdo Renaissance, which is probably over now," 14 Dec. 2017
Scholastic’s educational and wildly entertaining ’90s science show helped the medicine go down with a spoonful of zany psychedelia.

— andrew r. chow, New York Times, "What’s on TV Sunday: ‘Berlin Station’ and ‘Good Behavior’," 15 Oct. 2017
The album, Beck’s 13th, meticulously merges modern dance-pop with joyous indie rock and the sort of sunshine psychedelia minted by the Beach Boys (who once used this studio).

— chris martins, Los Angeles Magazine, "The L.A./Icon Interview: Beck," 17 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'psychedelia.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of psychedelia

New Latin, from English psychedelic

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1967

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

PSYCHEDELIA Defined for English Language Learners

psychedelia

noun

Definition of psychedelia for English Language Learners

: the art, music, style of living, etc., that is associated with psychedelic drugs and especially with the time in the 1960s when many people were using psychedelic drugs