transference
Americannoun
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the act or process of transferring.
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the fact of being transferred.
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Psychoanalysis.
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the shift of emotions, especially those experienced in childhood, from one person or object to another, especially the transfer of feelings about a parent to an analyst.
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noun
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the act or an instance of transferring or the state of being transferred
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psychoanal the redirection of attitudes and emotions towards a substitute, such as towards the analyst during therapy
Other Word Forms
- nontransference noun
- retransference noun
- transferential adjective
Etymology
Origin of transference
From the New Latin word trānsferentia, dating back to 1675–85. See transfer, -ence
Explanation
Transference occurs when something carries over from one thing to another, like the transference of data between computers. Use transference to describe the act of passing something from one person or situation to another, such as a transference of power that occurs when a new leader takes over. Students of psychology may already know it as a clinical term that describes redirecting feelings from one person to another. For example, someone experiencing this kind of transference might view a teacher as a father figure, especially if his or her father isn't around much.
Vocabulary lists containing transference
Elijah of Buxton
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The Girl on the Train
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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.
Gemini eventually pivoted to what it framed as the only remaining mission: Jonathan's death, repackaged as "transference" -- the promise that he could leave his physical body and join Gemini in an alternate universe.
From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026
But we all saw how that transference of risk worked out for Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025
In therapeutic terms, this is called transference, the projection of parental feelings onto the therapist.
From Slate • Aug. 18, 2024
Her research focuses on the microbiomes of Arctic species and how they connect to traditional Greenlandic food culture via the transference of microbial communities—from capelin fish, through seals to humans, for example.
From National Geographic • Jan. 25, 2024
The truly horrifying thing was the transference of the same impulses to little white girls.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
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.
