psychobabble
psy·cho·bab·ble/ˈsaɪkəʊbab(ə)l/noun, verb
psychobabble is spelled P-S-Y-C-H-O-B-A-B-B-L-E: 12 letters and 4 syllables (psy·cho·bab·ble). It appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a derogatory noun, psychobabble means “The jargon of psychology and psychoanalysis, especially when used pretentiously to discuss mundane issues” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in psychobabble?
| Letters | 12: P-S-Y-C-H-O-B-A-B-B-L-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4: psy·cho·bab·ble |
| In writing | about once in every 17 million words; the 122,704th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is psychobabble?
Psychobabble appears about once in every 17 million words in written English, the 122,704th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce psychobabble?
- UK /ˈsaɪkəʊbab(ə)l/
Psychobabble has 4 syllables, split psy·cho·bab·ble in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Forms of psychobabble
- psychobabbles present, singular, he/she/it
- psychobabbling participle, present
- psychobabbled participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does psychobabble mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
derogatoryThe jargon of psychology and psychoanalysis, especially when used pretentiously to discuss mundane issues.
verb
- 1
To speak or converse using this kind of jargon.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does psychobabble come from?
From psycho- + babble. First use appears c. 1975 in an article by R.D. Rosen. See cite below.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).