cathexis

[ kuh-thek-sis ]

/ kəˈθɛk sɪs /

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noun, plural ca·thex·es

[kuh-thek-seez]. /kəˈθɛk siz/. Psychoanalysis.

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

the charge of psychic energy so invested.

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Origin of cathexis

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

OTHER WORDS FROM cathexis

ca·thec·tic

[kuh-thek-tik], /kəˈθɛk tɪk/, adjective

Words nearby cathexis

catheter, catheter embolus, catheterization, catheterize, cathetus, cathexis, Cathie, Cathleen, Catho, cathode, cathode dark space

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use cathexis in a sentence

Drooling over such luxury was supposed to result in a cathexis of the Ralph Lauren label.
The Year of Fashion Photography|Philip Gefter|October 1, 2009|DAILY BEAST
In the other case the object is retained, and there is a hyper-cathexis of it by the ego and at the ego's expense.
Group Psychology and The Analysis of The Ego|Sigmund Freud
Is it quite certain that identification presupposes that object-cathexis has been given up?
Group Psychology and The Analysis of The Ego|Sigmund Freud

British Dictionary definitions for cathexis

cathexis

/ (kəˈθɛksɪs) /

noun plural -thexes (-ˈθɛksiːz)

psychoanal concentration of psychic energy on a single goal

Word Origin for cathexis

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

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

Medical definitions for cathexis

cathexis

[ kə-thĕk′sĭs ]

n. pl. ca•thex•es (-thĕk′sēz)

Concentration of emotional energy on an object or idea.