cathexis

[kuh-thek-sis]

noun

Psychoanalysis.

plural

cathexes 

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

2. the charge of psychic energy so invested.

cathexis

/ kəˈθɛksɪs /

noun

1. psychoanal concentration of psychic energy on a single goal

Other Word Forms

• cathectic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of cathexis¹

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)

Word History and Origins

Origin of cathexis¹

C20: from New Latin, from Greek kathexis, from katekhein to hold fast, intended to render German Besetzung a taking possession of

Example Sentences

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

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It was the wrong question, in part because it presumed a cathexis that was never quite there.

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

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An ecstatic and skeptical exploration of American song, Mac’s project is divided into eight three-hour concerts that will eventually be scrunched together into one 24-hour cathexis.

Read more on The Guardian

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

Read more on The New Yorker