psychoanalysis
noun
psy·cho·anal·y·sis
ˌsī-kō-ə-ˈna-lə-səs 
: 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
Examples of psychoanalysis in a Sentence
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Among Vienna’s more notable cultural exports—up there with psychoanalysis, waltzes, and Klimt—is a cake.
—
Harrison Vail, airmail.news, 8 Mar. 2025
Their work fit right in with the era’s fascination with psychoanalysis and mental illness.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2025
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. 2025
This comes from certain ideas in psychoanalysis, specifically from Lacanian psychoanalysis (one of whose core ideas is that subjectivity is constructed through language and meaning is never fully fixed).
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Feb. 2025
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Harrison Vail, airmail.news, 8 Mar. 2025
Their work fit right in with the era’s fascination with psychoanalysis and mental illness.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2025
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. 2025
This comes from certain ideas in psychoanalysis, specifically from Lacanian psychoanalysis (one of whose core ideas is that subjectivity is constructed through language and meaning is never fully fixed).
—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 5 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for psychoanalysis
Cite this Entry
“Psychoanalysis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychoanalysis. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
psychoanalysis
noun
psy·cho·anal·y·sis
ˌsī-kō-ə-ˈnal-ə-səs
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
variants
also psychanalysis
plural psychoanalyses
-ˌsēz
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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