What does "parapsychology" mean?

The study of alleged paranormal phenomena; psychic or occult phenomena, such as telepathy and ghosts.

How do you pronounce "parapsychology"?

Pronounced //ˌpɛɹəˌsaɪˈkɑlədʒi//.

Common synonyms include: abnormal psychology, academic psychology, analytical psychology, animal psychology, applied psychology, clinical psychology.

//ˌpɛɹəˌsaɪˈkɑlədʒi// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Noun

1
The study of alleged paranormal phenomena; psychic or occult phenomena, such as telepathy and ghosts. countable, uncountable
2
phenomena that appear to contradict physical laws and suggest the possibility of causation by mental processes wordnet

"Parapsychology is the study of paranormal and psychic phenomenons, including ESP."

From para- (“above, beyond; abnormal”) + psychology.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.