abreaction

[ab-ree-ak-shuh n]

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noun Psychoanalysis.

release of emotional tension achieved through recalling a repressed traumatic experience.

Origin of abreaction

1910–15; ab- + reaction, on the model of German Abreagierung

Related formsab·re·ac·tive

[ab-ree-ak-tiv] /ˌæb riˈæk tɪv/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for abreaction

ablution, purification, purgation, release, abreaction, cleansing, expurgation, lustration

British Dictionary definitions for abreaction

abreaction

noun

psychoanal the release and expression of emotional tension associated with repressed ideas by bringing those ideas into consciousness

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