psychologize

verb

psy·​chol·​o·​gize sī-ˈkä-lə-ˌjīz How to pronounce psychologize (audio)
psychologized; psychologizing

intransitive verb

: to speculate in psychological terms or on psychological motivations

transitive verb

: to explain or interpret in psychological terms

Examples of psychologize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Many of them disproportionately affect women, and are subject to medicine’s long-standing tendency to minimize or psychologize women’s pain, Pollack told me: An average woman with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome typically spends 16 years getting a diagnosis, while a man needs only four. Ed Yong, The Atlantic, 26 Sep. 2022 As often as not, his portraits suppress our impulse to psychologize by showing their subjects dead-eyed or asleep. Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 6 Oct. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1810, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of psychologize was in 1810

Dictionary Entries Near psychologize

Cite this Entry

“Psychologize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychologize. Accessed 2 Dec. 2024.

Medical Definition

psychologize

verb
psy·​chol·​o·​gize
variants also British psychologise
psychologized also British psychologised; psychologizing also British psychologising

transitive verb

: to explain or interpret in psychological terms

intransitive verb

: to speculate in psychological terms or upon psychological motivations
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!