free-associate
Americanverb (used without object)
Etymology
Origin of free-associate
First recorded in 1940–45
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In one of the most touching scenes about art and understanding, Souad is asked to free-associate over simple, hypnotic footage she shot at home of water filling a pail.
From Los Angeles Times
Sometimes, he would free-associate about philosophy and literature; at other times, though, he would embroider his childhood experiences during the Depression into works of audio fiction.
From Washington Post
But doing his haircuts was a nice way to give him a safe space where he could free-associate.
From New York Times
Moreover, actually being in power — drafting bills and heading to the cafeteria with supposed child abusers — makes it harder to free-associate about the machinations of a shadowy elite.
From Washington Post
I’m continually awed by his ability to free-associate, but worry students would be laughed at by art-school peers if they offered his brand of analysis.
From New York Times
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
