definitions

abreaction

[ ab-ree-ak-shuh n ]
/ ˌæb riˈæk ʃən /
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noun Psychoanalysis.

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

RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

abrasive, abrasiveness, abraxas, abrazo, abreact, abreaction, abreast, abri, abridge, abridgment, abrin

Origin of abreaction

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

Related forms

ab·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

British Dictionary definitions for abreaction

abreaction

/ (ˌæbrɪˈækʃən) /

noun

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