cathexis

American  

[kuh-thek-sis] / kəˈθɛk sɪs /

noun

Psychoanalysis.

plural

cathexes

1. the investment of emotional significance in an activity, object, or idea.

2. the charge of psychic energy so invested.

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cathexis British  

/ kəˈθɛksɪs /

noun

1. psychoanal concentration of psychic energy on a single goal

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Other Word Forms

• cathectic adjective

Etymology

Origin of cathexis

First recorded in 1920–25; from New Latin, from Greek káthexis “a keeping,” equivalent to kathek- (variant stem of katéchein “to keep, hold on to,” equivalent to kat- cat- ( def. ) + échein “to have, hold”) + -sis -sis, as translation of German Besetzung a taking possession of (Freud's term)

Example Sentences

Because you have so much invested, it’s not just pleasurable, it’s also much more of a cathexis onto him and his persona and all that he represents.

From Slate • Mar. 14, 2021

It’s more like a cathexis, an acutely intense energy focused on a singular entity.

From New York Times • Nov. 19, 2019

I liked parts of these movies and had moments of cathexis, but nothing really stuck.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 27, 2016

Authors are objects of cathexis, some of it idolizing, some of it envious, a fair amount both.

From The New Yorker • May 4, 2015

Object, 57-8, 62, 68, 74, 87, 93, 104, 125, 127. cathexis, 48, 58, 60-1, 71-2, 76.

From Group Psychology and The Analysis of The Ego by Freud, Sigmund