Freudian slip

American

noun

(in Freudian psychology) an inadvertent mistake in speech or writing that is thought to reveal a person's unconscious motives, wishes, or attitudes.

Freudian slip British

noun

any action, such as a slip of the tongue, that may reveal an unconscious thought

"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

Freudian slip Cultural

An error in speech that reveals repressed thoughts or feelings; for example, accidentally calling one's wife “Mom.”

Etymology

Origin of Freudian slip

First recorded in 1950–55

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023