If someone has a psychosomatic illness, their symptoms are caused by worry or unhappiness rather than by a physical problem.
Doctors refused to treat her, claiming that her problems were all psychosomatic.
Synonyms: (all) in the mind, psychological, unconscious, subconscious More Synonyms of psychosomatic
psychosomatic in British English
(ˌsaɪkəʊsəˈmætɪk)
adjective
of or relating to disorders, such as stomach ulcers, thought to be caused or aggravated by psychological factors such as stress
psychosomatic in American English
(ˌsaɪkoʊsoʊˈmætɪk)
adjective
1.
designating or of a disorder of the body originating in or aggravated by the psychic or emotional processes of the individual
2.
designating a system of medicine using a coordinated psychological and physiological approach to the study of the causes and treatment of psychosomatic disorders
noun
3.
an individual exhibiting a psychosomatic disorder
Derived forms
psychosomatically (ˌpsychosoˈmatically)
adverb
Word origin
psycho- + somatic
Examples of 'psychosomatic' in a sentence
psychosomatic
It's a psychosomatic cold,' said Oliver, `not the catching kind.
Fay Weldon THE PRESIDENT'S CHILD (2003)
You don't want anybody thinking you're having some kind of psychosomatic deal.
Melinda Metz PAYBACK (2003)
Word lists with
psychosomatic
Psychology terms
(adjective)
Definition
(of a physical disorder) thought to have psychological causes, such as stress
Doctors refused to treat her, saying her problems were psychosomatic.
Synonyms
(all) in the mind
psychological
My GP dismissed my back pains as purely psychological.
unconscious
an unconscious desire expressed solely during sleep
subconscious
subjective
irrational
unreal
Additional synonyms
in the sense of psychological
Definition
having its origin in the mind
My GP dismissed my back pains as purely psychological.
Synonyms
imaginary,
psychosomatic,
unconscious,
subconscious,
subjective,
irrational,
unreal,
all in the mind
in the sense of unconscious
Definition
coming from or produced by the unconscious
an unconscious desire expressed solely during sleep