as in legalese
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Recent Examples of psychobabble
The overly earnest character speaks in a hilariously cringey Gen Z self-help psychobabble that continuously grates on Enrique’s nerves.
—
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2025
Sometimes, such content might be portrayed as being valid psychological science versus non-sensical psychobabble.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025
This is the modernist quest reduced to Silicon Valley psychobabble.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2022
The show is savvy enough to sense how easily human ache can fall prey to the manipulative language of certain practitioners, and how alluring psychobabble can be, in the right context.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2021
The fetishistic horse business is merely a weird aesthetic choice that's explained away with a bit of perfunctory psychobabble.
—Katie Walsh, latimes.com, 2 May 2018
Even taking the Super Bowl hangover psychobabble into account, this looks more like a mechanical problem than a mental one — for now.
—Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2017
Such speculation makes psychobiography sound like little more than psychobabble.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 2 June 2017
Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2025
Sometimes, such content might be portrayed as being valid psychological science versus non-sensical psychobabble.
—Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 11 Apr. 2025
This is the modernist quest reduced to Silicon Valley psychobabble.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2022
The show is savvy enough to sense how easily human ache can fall prey to the manipulative language of certain practitioners, and how alluring psychobabble can be, in the right context.
—Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 19 Aug. 2021
The fetishistic horse business is merely a weird aesthetic choice that's explained away with a bit of perfunctory psychobabble.
—Katie Walsh, latimes.com, 2 May 2018
Even taking the Super Bowl hangover psychobabble into account, this looks more like a mechanical problem than a mental one — for now.
—Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 19 Oct. 2017
Such speculation makes psychobiography sound like little more than psychobabble.
—Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 2 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for psychobabble
Noun
-
Certainly, the league could make good on its contractual deterrent—legalese that gives the Shield the right to end its 66-year relationship with CBS within a two-year window after the PSKY closing date.—
Anthony Crupi,
Sportico.com,
1 May 2026
-
To use words in ways that are unexpected or surprising, to repurpose some of the legalese that has been weaponized against my characters.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Details of new initiatives were bogged down by mind-numbing bureaucratese.—
Sharon Grigsby,
Dallas News,
11 Apr. 2023
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The most striking aspect of Putin’s failure to accept responsibility for the Kursk disaster was his retreat into bureaucratese.—
Masha Gessen,
The New Yorker,
18 Mar. 2020
Noun
-
The prompts must make sense and cannot just be gobbledygook.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Meaningless gobbledygook to an outsider, yet powerful to those who know how to wield those sounds properly.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
With its iconic captains, philosophical dilemmas and unforgettable alien encounters, the Trek universe is rich with lore, logic, and a whole lot of technobabble.—
Kenna Hughes-Castleberry,
Space.com,
19 Oct. 2025
-
Some individuals’ self-destructive dependence on AI to make sense of the world through religious prophecy, sci-fi technobabble, conspiracy theories, or all of the above has led to family rifts, divorces, and gradual alienation from society itself.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
22 June 2025
Noun
-
On Saturday Night Live, host Will Ferrell and musical guest Paul McCartney played a couple of gibberish-speaking mechanics who end up taking some naive car owners for a ride.—
William Vaillancourt,
Rolling Stone,
17 May 2026
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And these worlds aren’t even real, just ones and zeros merged to form a network of communication that sometimes feels like incoherent gibberish.—
Brandon Kaipo Moningka,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Driving the news: The statement was published only in English on the Facebook page of the Israeli Prime Minister's Office — potentially another case of double-talk by Netanyahu.—
Barak Ravid,
Axios,
27 Sep. 2024
-
The GOP Senate candidate in Arizona, whose brand is a combative, never-back-down MAGA politics, has adopted a position on the issue that is nearly indistinguishable from that of double-talking Democrats.—
Rich Lowry,
National Review,
14 Apr. 2024
Noun
-
And the rigmarole of international travel is a very good reason.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Chicago Tribune,
18 Apr. 2026
-
Alternatives were mooted, such as filming in England, but flying all the crew from Poland, and their associated visa requirements, would have added to the rigmarole.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Psychobabble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/psychobabble. Accessed 22 May. 2026.
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