Adlerian

American

[ad-leer-ee-uhn] / ædˈlɪər i ən /

adjective

of or relating to Alfred Adler or his doctrines, especially in respect to the belief that behavior is determined by compensation for feelings of inferiority.

Adlerian British

/ ædˈlɪərɪən /

adjective

of or relating to Alfred Adler or his ideas

"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

Etymology

Origin of Adlerian

First recorded in 1930–35; Adler + -ian

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.

Later that year, the family fled to New York and settled in Manhattan, where Maria Gitter served as a psychotherapist at the Adlerian Clinic and Milo Gitter became a wholesale dealer in rare stamps.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

An Adlerian would interpret the overloaded wagon as an exaggerated will to power, in compensation for an inferiority complex.

From Time Magazine Archive

The first lesson was an early Adlerian version of evolution.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Inferiority complex," a much abused term, is Adlerian.

From Time Magazine Archive

In terms of Adlerian psychology, this dream revealed both pessimism and courage.

From Time Magazine Archive

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