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psychobabble

psychobabble

13 9.5
Talk that uses confusing psychology words without real meaning
  • noun
  • /ˈsaɪkoʊˌbæbəl/
  • Literature
translation icon : palabrería psicológica
  • Does that psychobabble really work on anybody?
  • a bunch of psychobabble
  • psychobabble buzzwords
  • a lot of psychobabble

Examples

  • Like after Advanced Calc and Chaucer, I can follow the psychobabble.

  • Forget the psychobabble.

  • "Oh, cut the psychobabble, Doctor!

    Fiction book (1995)
  • "Sounds like psychobabble to me, Alan."

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Okay, enough of my psychobabble.

    Blog text (6)
  • No amount of psychobabble can cure the blues like a good friend's shoulder, a bottle of tequila and a...

  • Here it comes-- psychobabble.

  • That's called psychobabble.

    Blog text (23)
  • Perhaps we could have done without the psychobabble, but the fact that we discussed the killing of Bin Laden as a means of providing a national catharsis is evidence of a notable American achievement.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Many people are frustrated by the psychobabble they often hear on talk shows.

Synonyms

nonsense
vspsychobabble
578 2.5

Words or ideas that do not make sense

is jargon focused and aims to seem scientific rather than random words
gibberish
vspsychobabble
45 7.2

Speech or writing that does not make sense

is jargon based and aims to sound important rather than be pure nonsense
mumbo jumbo
vspsychobabble
  • Informal
21 8.3

Confusing talk that hides the truth or tries to impress people

uses psychological words to seem impressive rather than give clear meaning
babble
vspsychobabble
19 4.4

Soft, happy sounds a baby makes before speaking clearly

uses adult psychological jargon to seem important rather than be simple noise
gobbledygook
vspsychobabble
  • Informal
9 9.9

Confusing speech or writing full of technical words that most people cannot understand

uses psychological terms to sound important without real meaning
jabberwocky
vspsychobabble
  • Literature
8 9.9

Nonsense language that sounds like real speech but has no clear meaning

uses serious psychological language to impress rather than playful meaningless words
word salad
vspsychobabble
  • Specialized
3 9.9

Confusing speech or writing that makes no sense

uses coherent sounding psychological jargon to impress rather than reflect disordered speech
gobbledegook
vspsychobabble
  • Informal
1 9.8

Language that is hard to understand because it uses many difficult words or nonsense

uses psychological terms to impress rather than explain ideas clearly
technobabble
vspsychobabble
  • Informal
1 9.6

Confusing words from computers and high-tech areas that most people do not understand

uses psychological jargon instead of clear explanation to seem expert
ecobabble
vspsychobabble
  • Slang
9.9

Language that uses environmental words to sound caring without real meaning

uses psychological jargon to appear knowledgeable without true understanding
edu-babble
vspsychobabble
  • Slang
9.9

Confusing education words that sound important but mean little

uses psychological phrases to sound scholarly without real clarity
yoga-babble
vspsychobabble
  • Slang
9.9

Talk about yoga that uses many words people find hard to understand

uses psychological terms rather than clear explanation to impress listeners

Antonyms

152 3.0

How easy it is to understand what someone says or writes

1 3.7

Being clear and easy to understand

How Jargon-filled

psychobabble
  • Literature
13 9.5
technicism
  • Jargon
9.9
psychol.
  • Specialized
8.1
plainness
1 3.7

Surface Forms

psychobabble singular
psychobabbles plural

Morphology

psychobabble = babble (semi-transparent) = psycho + babble

The word is built from the combining form psycho- plus babble, and the overall sense of foolish, jargon-filled talk is fairly inferable but still somewhat playful and specialized.

Etymology

Psychobabble comes from the Greek word psyche meaning 'mind', as in psychology, plus the English word babble, which means 'to speak foolishly'. So psychobabble is talk that uses psychology words but is empty or without real meaning.