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abreaction

American  
[ab-ree-ak-shuhn] / ˌæb riˈæk ʃən /

noun

Psychoanalysis.

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

abreaction British  
/ ˌæbrɪˈækʃən /

noun

  1. 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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of abreaction

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

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.

Abreaction, 109 Abu Said, 16 Adolescence, 240 seq.

From The Life of the Spirit and the Life of To-day by Underhill, Evelyn

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.