phrenology

American  

[fri-nol-uh-jee, fre-] / frɪˈnɒl ə dʒi, frɛ- /

noun

1. a psychological theory or analytical method based on the belief that certain mental faculties and character traits are indicated by the configurations of the skull.

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phrenology British  

/ ˌfrɛnəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, frɪˈnɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. (formerly) the branch of science concerned with localization of function in the human brain, esp determination of the strength of the faculties by the shape and size of the skull overlying the parts of the brain thought to be responsible for them

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Other Word Forms

• phrenologic adjective
• phrenological adjective
• phrenologically adverb
• phrenologist noun

Etymology

Origin of phrenology

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805; phreno- + -logy

Example Sentences

“He had to look beautiful, like a phrenology head or an anatomical manual,” Del Toro adds.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2025

This was partly driven by huge interest in the now-discredited science of phrenology.

From BBC • Oct. 28, 2023

Still, Poe wasn't immune to quackery himself, finding trendy pseudosciences like phrenology and animal magnetism perfectly sensible.

From Salon • Jul. 25, 2021

To make matters worse, FINA’s reasoning for the prohibition sounds like something straight out of an 1890s phrenology manual: The caps do not “fit the natural form of the head.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 3, 2021

Renowned educator Horace Mann saw phrenology as “the guide to philosophy and the handmaiden of Christianity,” and Horace Greeley of “Go West, young man” fame advocated phrenology tests for all railroad engineers.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos