psychiatric

IPA/ˌsaɪkiˈætrɪk/
KK[sˌaɪkiˈætrɪk]IPA/ˌsaɪkiˈætrɪk/

psychiatric — adjective

  • psychiatricpositive
  • more psychiatriccomparative
  • most psychiatricsuperlative

1. connected with the medical study, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions that af

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

connected with the medical study, diagnosis, and treatment of conditions that affect a person's mind, emotions, or behaviour

Example

Andrés was referred to a psychiatric hospital after the accident.

collocation: psychiatric hospital

The clinic offers psychiatric treatment for patients with severe depression.

collocation: psychiatric treatment

Common collocations
  • psychiatric hospital
  • psychiatric treatment
  • psychiatric evaluation
  • psychiatric care
  • psychiatric patient
  • psychiatric disorder
  • psychiatric nurse
  • psychiatric ward
  • psychiatric help
  • psychiatric assessment
Synonyms
  • mental

    broader and less clinical; can refer to any aspect of the mind, not only illness

  • psychological

    relates to the mind, emotions, and behaviour in general; not specifically medical

  • psychotherapeutic

    narrower; focuses on talk therapy and counselling rather than medical treatment

Grammar Patterns

psychiatric + noun

Usage Note

Frequently appears before nouns naming medical services (care, treatment, help), facilities (hospital, ward, unit), or professionals (nurse, doctor, team). Unlike psychological, which covers general mental processes and behaviour, psychiatric specifically refers to clinical care by qualified medical doctors.

Common Mistakes

She has a psychiatric.
She has a psychiatric condition.
Psychiatric is an adjective; it must modify a noun.
He was admitted to a psychological ward.
He was admitted to a psychiatric ward.
Psychological covers general mental processes; psychiatric is specifically about medical treatment of mental illness.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Psychiatric, mental, and psychological all relate to the mind, but they are used in different contexts. Psychiatric refers specifically to the medical diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders, often involving doctors (psychiatrists), hospitals, and medication. Mental is the broadest of the three — it can refer to any aspect of the mind, from intelligence ('mental arithmetic') to illness ('mental health'), and appears in both everyday and clinical language. Psychological relates to the study of the mind, behaviour, and emotions, and is common in academic and general settings. For example, you would say 'a psychiatric hospital' (a medical facility), 'a mental exercise' (an activity for the mind), and 'a psychological study' (research into behaviour). Choose psychiatric when you mean medically treated illness, mental for general mind-related topics, and psychological for processes and behaviour.

psychiatric ↗mental ↗psychological ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • psychiatrically

Phrases

  • psychiatric facility
  • psychiatric unit
  • psychiatric team

Etymology

GreekGermanEnglish

From Greek 'psyche' (mind, soul) and 'iatreia' (healing), combined in German as 'Psychiatrie' in the nineteenth century, then adopted into English. The adjective form 'psychiatric' emerged in the early twentieth century as the field of psychiatry grew into a recognised medical specialty.