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

Together, these two transactions mark the moment psychedelic psychiatry stopped being a biotech curiosity and became something the largest drugmakers in the world are willing to write nine- and ten-figure checks for. — Robert Glatter, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Shifting baseline syndrome has a clinical ring to it, like something from psychiatry’s official manual of mental disorders. — Literary Hub, 15 July 2026

People quickly forget they’re being recorded, according to Charles Raison, a professor of human ecology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who has used the EAR in several studies. — Shayla Love, New Yorker, 8 July 2026

Patricia Cavazos-Rehg, a professor of psychiatry at Washington University, studies how online platforms affect self-harm and suicide risk. — Laurie Mermet, Sun Sentinel, 6 July 2026

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

• neuropsychiatry
• orthopsychiatry
• podiatry

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