free-associate
Americanverb (used without object)
Etymology
Origin of free-associate
First recorded in 1940–45
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.
When Midge enters show biz, her shtick, just like Rivers’s was, is to dress for a date, in a black dress and pearls, then free-associate truths about women’s lives.
From The New Yorker • Dec. 11, 2018
“It’s not for me! I free-associate and come up with all kinds of extra material that doesn’t belong — but does.”
From New York Times • Sep. 3, 2017
Freud encouraged patients to tell their stories and got them to free-associate around their narrative to find out how they thought and felt about themselves.
From The Guardian • Apr. 24, 2016
Hear a giggling Dylan free-associate the words "See you later, Allen Ginsberg" to the tune of "See You Later, Alligator."
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 27, 2014
The writers free-associate, and contemporary concerns often get the upper hand.
From Washington Post
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.
