psychosomatic
adjective
Herbert Ratner
Did you know?
Since the Greek word soma means "body", psychosomatic suggests the link between mind and body. Since one's mental state may have an important effect on one's physical state, research on new medicines always involves giving some patients in the experiment a placebo (fake medicine), and some who receive the sugar pills will seem to improve. You may hear someone say of someone else's symptoms, "Oh, it's probably just psychosomatic", implying that the physical pain or illness is imaginary--maybe just an attempt to get sympathy--and that the person could will it away if he or she wanted to. But this can be harsh and unfair, since, whatever the cause is, the pain is usually real.
Examples of psychosomatic in a Sentence
Stephen C. George, Discover Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
While other researchers immediately disagreed with them, their work and the lack of clear cause for the disease meant that a lot of doctors were comfortable shrugging it off as totally psychosomatic.
—Claire Maldarelli, Popular Science, 14 Feb. 2024
Even now, officials who report these symptoms are closely screened to confirm whether their symptoms are physical or psychosomatic.
—Jenny Haward, Peoplemag, 19 Oct. 2023
Relentless examination can have unforeseen consequences, as neurologist Suzanne O’Sullivan writes in The Sleeping Beauties, an examination of psychosomatic disorder.
—Eleanor Cummins, The New Republic, 11 May 2023
While some episodes seriously examined the conditions, others advanced narratives that the conditions were actually psychosomatic.
—Winston Cho, The Hollywood Reporter, 15 June 2023
This virtual box may provide some misplaced sense of security and psychosomatic comfort.
—Nicholas Dodman, Discover Magazine, 18 Apr. 2017
Because the study was small, all of the participants were male and lived at a high altitude, researchers were unable to make definitive conclusions, but believe looking into how meditation can help prevent or treat psychosomatic illness merits further research.
—L'oreal Thompson Payton, Fortune, 16 Jan. 2023
Amid the emotionally taxing affair, Sandra also worries about the well-being of her daughter, Linn (Camille Leban Martins, delightfully plucky), whose sudden limp appears to be psychosomatic.
—Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 31 Jan. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'psychosomatic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
International Scientific Vocabulary
circa 1834, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near psychosomatic
Cite this Entry
“Psychosomatic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychosomatic. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
psychosomatic
adjective
Medical Definition
psychosomatic
1 of 2 adjective
Herbert Ratnerpsychosomatic
2 of 2 noun
More from Merriam-Webster on psychosomatic
Nglish: Translation of psychosomatic for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of psychosomatic for Arabic Speakers
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