Meaning & use
psychosomatic
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivenot comparabletechnicalmedical
Relating to physical symptoms that are caused or made worse by mental or emotional factors.
Grammar: Describes a condition or symptom; not used in comparative forms.
Patterns
- psychosomatic illness
- psychosomatic symptoms
- psychosomatic disorder
Her headaches were diagnosed as psychosomatic after all physical tests came back normal.
Stress can trigger psychosomatic symptoms such as stomach pain and fatigue.
The doctor explained that psychosomatic does not mean the pain is not real.
adjectivenot comparabletechnicalmedical
Relating to the interaction between mind and body.
Grammar: Used in academic or medical writing about mind-body connections.
Patterns
- psychosomatic medicine
- psychosomatic research
Psychosomatic medicine studies how emotions affect physical health.
The conference focused on psychosomatic approaches to chronic pain.
Common combinations
- psychosomatic illness
- She missed work due to a psychosomatic illness that flared up during exams.
- psychosomatic symptoms
- His psychosomatic symptoms disappeared once the stressful project ended.
- psychosomatic disorder
- The clinic specializes in treating psychosomatic disorders.
- purely psychosomatic
- The pain was not purely psychosomatic; there was also a physical cause.
Synonyms and how they differ
- stress-related
- Broader and less technical; it refers to any condition linked to stress, not specifically to mind-body causation.
- mind-body
- Often used attributively (mind-body medicine) and focuses on the connection rather than implying symptoms are caused by the mind.
Word family
- psychosomatically adverb
- In a way that involves both mind and body, or due to mental factors.
Commonly confused: psychosomatic or psychosomatic vs. psychogenic?
psychosomatic vs psychosomatic vs. psychogenic
Psychogenic means originating in the mind, often used for purely psychological causes. Psychosomatic emphasizes the interaction between mind and body, though the terms overlap.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'psychosomatic' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Psychosomatic describes physical symptoms caused by mental factors, so 'the pain was psychosomatic' fits. Option An is wrong because a rash is usually treated as a physical condition, not typically called psychosomatic. Option C misuses it as a personal trait. Option D is nonsense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “psychosomatic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.