psychoanalysis

noun

psy·​cho·​anal·​y·​sis ˌsī-kō-ə-ˈna-lə-səs How to pronounce psychoanalysis (audio)
: a method of analyzing psychic phenomena and treating emotional disorders that involves treatment sessions during which the patient is encouraged to talk freely about personal experiences and especially about early childhood and dreams
psychoanalyst noun

Examples of psychoanalysis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But poor casting was only half of it — Charles Walters' 1955 adaptation unfortunately reimagines the heroine as an irascible antisocial brat with delusions of grandeur, all explained away by bizarre contemporary psychoanalysis provided in voice-over. EW.com, 4 Mar. 2024 One of my personal intellectual journeys in recent years has been psychoanalysis. David Marchese Photo Illustration By Bráulio Amado, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2024 So here his Freud is kind of like, what if Hopkins had invented psychoanalysis? Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 9 Jan. 2024 At once too frigid and too promiscuous within the terms of early psychoanalysis, the anorexic woman’s appetites (or lack thereof) were a threat to the cultural order. Anna Shechtman, Harper's Magazine, 9 Feb. 2024 Benedicto, who divides his time between D.C. and Berlin, is illustrating concepts from Lacanian psychoanalysis. Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2023 Erik Erikson taught me how to be ambivalent about psychoanalysis. Masha Gessen, The New Yorker, 12 Nov. 2023 An English literature honours degree with a focus on psychoanalysis as a way to read texts. Hazlitt, 27 Sep. 2023 Across the void inhabited a split second ago by Vera and her chair sits tonight’s third compadre, James, a depressed graduate student of psychoanalysis experiencing relationship troubles. Matt Thompson, SPIN, 8 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'psychoanalysis.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of psychoanalysis was in 1906

Dictionary Entries Near psychoanalysis

Cite this Entry

“Psychoanalysis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychoanalysis. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

psychoanalysis

noun
psy·​cho·​anal·​y·​sis ˌsī-kō-ə-ˈnal-ə-səs How to pronounce psychoanalysis (audio)
plural psychoanalyses
-ˌsēz
: a method of explaining and treating mental and emotional disorders by having the patient talk freely about himself or herself and especially about dreams, problems, and early childhood memories and experiences

Medical Definition

psychoanalysis

noun
psy·​cho·​anal·​y·​sis ˌsī-kō-ə-ˈnal-ə-səs How to pronounce psychoanalysis (audio)
variants also psychanalysis
plural psychoanalyses -ˌsēz How to pronounce psychoanalysis (audio)
1
: a method of analyzing psychic phenomena and treating mental and emotional disorders that is based on the concepts and theories of Sigmund Freud, that emphasizes the importance of free association and dream analysis, and that involves treatment sessions during which the patient is encouraged to talk freely about personal experiences and especially about early childhood and dreams
2
: a body of empirical findings and a set of theories on human motivation, behavior, and personality development that developed especially with the aid of psychoanalysis
3
: a school of psychology, psychiatry, and psychotherapy founded by Sigmund Freud and rooted in and applying psychoanalysis

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