psychological disorder
noun
Simple meaning
A more neutral term than mental illness.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sykuhlahjihkuhldihsawrderSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
saɪkəˈlɑdʒɪkəldɪsɔɹdɚ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
psychiatry
A psychological disorder of thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illness
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
This meaning: (psychiatry) a psychological disorder of thought or emotion; a more neutral term than mental illness
In this sense psychological disorder is used as a clinical description rather than a judgement. Outside professional contexts the same word carries much more force, so it is easy for a reader to hear criticism where none was meant.
- Emotional tone
- Context-dependent
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Very strong
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Clinical and detached
Where it naturally appears
- Medicine/healthcare
- Science
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
Share your sentence
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Keep learning “psychological disorder” by choosing the kind of practice you need next.
- Practice sentence writingWrite sentences with vocabulary and get instant feedback.
- Practice in contextAnswer short vocabulary questions drawn from real situations.
- Review vocabularyTest your recall and strengthen words over time.
- Practice typingType vocabulary in short rounds that draw from words you've learned and saved.
Want to type words like this one without looking at the keyboard? Each typing round draws from words you've learned, saved or need to review. Follow the free Learn to Type lessons and type your own vocabulary with confidence.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.