Oedipus complex

American  

[ed-uh-puhs kom-pleks, ee-duh-] / ˈɛd ə pəs ˌkɒm plɛks, ˈi də- /

Also Oedipal complex

noun

Psychoanalysis.

1. an unconscious sexual desire directed toward a parent of a different gender, especially by a son toward his mother, usually originating in childhood and expressed through rivalry with the other parent.

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Oedipus complex British  

noun

1. psychoanal a group of emotions, usually unconscious, involving the desire of a child, esp a male child, to possess sexually the parent of the opposite sex while excluding the parent of the same sex Compare Electra complex

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Oedipus complex Cultural  

1. In Freudian theory, the unconscious desire of a young child for sexual intercourse with the parent of the opposite sex, especially between boys and their mothers (see genital stage). Followers of the psychologist Sigmund Freud long believed that the Oedipus complex was common to all cultures, although many psychiatrists now refute this belief. The Oedipus complex is named after the mythical Oedipus, who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother.

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Other Word Forms

• oedipal adjective

Etymology

Origin of Oedipus complex

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Indeed, Sahl might leaven his monologues with allusions to the Oedipus complex or references to monotheism and then preface a new target by saying, “Dig this” — or, more often, “Onward!”

From Los Angeles Times

The, rather uncomfortable, theory was originally put forth more than a century ago by Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud who dubbed it the Oedipus complex in males.

From Scientific American

They said probably when I got home my parents had separated right before I got back and something about an Oedipus complex - you want to marry your mother, and hate your father.

From Washington Times

In classic Freudian psychology, the Oedipus complex rears itself between the ages of 3 and 6.

From Salon

Just one century after he described the Oedipus complex, an entire generation of dads are waging an unconscious war on the King Creon within.

From Forbes