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

These differences are so notable that Thomas Boyce, MD, an emeritus professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco, developed a framework to describe them. —Parents, 7 June 2026

In 1977, he was named professor of psychiatry and medical humanities, and in 1995, he was appointed as a professor of social ethics in the School of Education. —ABC News, 7 June 2026

Screening tools used in schools could recognize what might be a cultural way to express distress in Chinese culture, not only through the self-reporting language of Western psychiatry. —Huaying Wang, The Conversation, 29 May 2026

The San Diego chapter of the ARCS Foundation presented its 2026 Scientist of the Year celebration at the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center in La Jolla on May 17, honoring UC San Diego professor emeritus of psychiatry Sonia Ancoli-Israel. —La Jolla Light, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 May 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