as in legalese
Related Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of psychobabble
The overly earnest character speaks in a hilariously cringey Gen Z self-help psychobabble that continuously grates on Enrique’s nerves.
—
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2025
Sometimes, such content might be portrayed as being valid psychological science versus non-sensical psychobabble.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025
This is the modernist quest reduced to Silicon Valley psychobabble.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2022
The show is savvy enough to sense how easily human ache can fall prey to the manipulative language of certain practitioners, and how alluring psychobabble can be, in the right context.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2021
The fetishistic horse business is merely a weird aesthetic choice that's explained away with a bit of perfunctory psychobabble.
—Katie Walsh, latimes.com, 2 May 2018
Even taking the Super Bowl hangover psychobabble into account, this looks more like a mechanical problem than a mental one — for now.
—Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2017
Such speculation makes psychobiography sound like little more than psychobabble.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 2 June 2017
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2025
Sometimes, such content might be portrayed as being valid psychological science versus non-sensical psychobabble.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025
This is the modernist quest reduced to Silicon Valley psychobabble.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2022
The show is savvy enough to sense how easily human ache can fall prey to the manipulative language of certain practitioners, and how alluring psychobabble can be, in the right context.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2021
The fetishistic horse business is merely a weird aesthetic choice that's explained away with a bit of perfunctory psychobabble.
—Katie Walsh, latimes.com, 2 May 2018
Even taking the Super Bowl hangover psychobabble into account, this looks more like a mechanical problem than a mental one — for now.
—Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2017
Such speculation makes psychobiography sound like little more than psychobabble.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 2 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for psychobabble
Noun
-
Lawyers and Uber are also battling over legalese about who would be responsible for paying medical bills after a crash.—
Levi Sumagaysay,
Mercury News,
24 Feb. 2026
-
This is as much about legalese and interpretation as right vs. wrong.—
Steve Buckley,
New York Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Details of new initiatives were bogged down by mind-numbing bureaucratese.—
Sharon Grigsby,
Dallas News,
11 Apr. 2023
-
The most striking aspect of Putin’s failure to accept responsibility for the Kursk disaster was his retreat into bureaucratese.—
Masha Gessen,
The New Yorker,
18 Mar. 2020
Noun
-
Meaningless gobbledygook to an outsider, yet powerful to those who know how to wield those sounds properly.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
-
Bob Kring DeBary Congressional bill is full of greed The Great Big Beautiful Bill reads like 950 pages of of gobbledygook distilled into four words: Greedy, stingy, mean and short-sighted.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
With its iconic captains, philosophical dilemmas and unforgettable alien encounters, the Trek universe is rich with lore, logic, and a whole lot of technobabble.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Some individuals’ self-destructive dependence on AI to make sense of the world through religious prophecy, sci-fi technobabble, conspiracy theories, or all of the above has led to family rifts, divorces, and gradual alienation from society itself.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
22 June 2025
Noun
-
Imagine designing a system that conforms to that gibberish, or the ensuing court battles.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
25 Jan. 2026
-
In Anthropic’s experiments, as few as 250 malicious documents were enough to induce AI models to output gibberish.—
Craig S. Smith,
Forbes.com,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Driving the news: The statement was published only in English on the Facebook page of the Israeli Prime Minister's Office — potentially another case of double-talk by Netanyahu.—
Barak Ravid,
Axios,
27 Sep. 2024
-
The GOP Senate candidate in Arizona, whose brand is a combative, never-back-down MAGA politics, has adopted a position on the issue that is nearly indistinguishable from that of double-talking Democrats.—
Rich Lowry,
National Review,
14 Apr. 2024
Noun
-
A little rigmarole for much rejuvenescence.—
Scott Hocker,
TheWeek,
20 Mar. 2026
-
This leads to a chaotic rigmarole in which, bit by bit, the Hungarian mobsters stream downstairs to either take advantage of the girls or do away with them, forcing them to rely on their discipline and athletic training to mount a response.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Psychobabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/psychobabble. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
