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Oedipus complex
[ ed-uh-puhs kom-pleks, ee-duh- ]
noun
, Psychoanalysis.
- an unconscious sexual desire directed toward a parent of a different gender, especially by a son toward his mother, usually originating in childhood and expressed through rivalry with the other parent. Compare Electra complex.
Oedipus complex
noun
- psychoanal a group of emotions, usually unconscious, involving the desire of a child, esp a male child, to possess sexually the parent of the opposite sex while excluding the parent of the same sex Compare Electra complex
Oedipus complex
- In Freudian theory, the unconscious desire of a young child for sexual intercourse with the parent of the opposite sex, especially between boys and their mothers ( see genital stage ). Followers of the psychologist Sigmund Freud long believed that the Oedipus complex was common to all cultures , although many psychiatrists now refute this belief. The Oedipus complex is named after the mythical Oedipus , who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother.
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Derived Forms
- ˈoedipal, adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of Oedipus complex1
First recorded in 1890–95
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Example Sentences
In this sense the Oedipus-complex is correctly designated as the nucleus of the neurosis.
From Project Gutenberg
But even this factor cannot seriously undermine the spontaneous character of the childish Oedipus-complex.
From Project Gutenberg
But it would be a vain endeavor to explain the whole of the Oedipus-complex by "imagining back," and as related to later times.
From Project Gutenberg
You will remember that we were led to a similar alternative in the discussion of the Oedipus-complex.
From Project Gutenberg
Oedipus Complex: Over-strong bond between mother and son, or (more loosely) between father and daughter.
From Project Gutenberg
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