Oedipus complex

[ ed-uh-puhs kom-pleks, ee-duh- ]

nounPsychoanalysis.
  1. 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.

Origin of Oedipus complex

1
First recorded in 1890–95
  • Also Oed·i·pal com·plex [ed-uh-puhl kom-pleks, ee-duh-] /ˈɛd ə pəl ˌkɒm plɛks, ˈi də-/ .

Words Nearby Oedipus complex

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How to use Oedipus complex in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Oedipus complex

Oedipus complex

noun
  1. 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

Derived forms of Oedipus complex

  • oedipal or oedipean, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Oedipus complex

Oedipus complex

[ (ed-uh-puhs, ee-duh-puhs) ]


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.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.