oedipal

[ ed-uh-puhl, ee-duh- ]

adjective

, (often initial capital letter)

1. of, characterized by, or resulting from the Oedipus complex.

Word History and Origins

Origin of oedipal¹

First recorded in 1935–40; Oedip(us complex) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

More striking are the Oedipal tensions that flare up between Clara and Andrew.

From New York Times

Most involve George Gershwin: Levant’s friend, benefactor and bête noire, dead 20 years yet still a kind of Oedipal rival.

From New York Times

Most involve George Gershwin: Levant’s friend, benefactor and bête noire, dead 20 years yet still a kind of Oedipal rival.

From New York Times

Rather than slotting in as a “horror” film, it can be categorized a little less neatly as a surreal three-hour Homeric odyssey about Jewish guilt, Oedipal angst and somebody named “Birthday Boy Stab Man.”

From Seattle Times

Then again, if there is a point to “Beau Is Afraid,” I suppose it’s that parent-child relationships, particularly mother-son relationships, are so elemental, so Oedipal, that there can be no rational understanding thereof.

From Los Angeles Times