disinhibition
Americannoun
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Psychology. a temporary loss of inhibition caused by an outside stimulus.
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Chemistry. removal of an inhibitor.
noun
Etymology
Origin of disinhibition
First recorded in 1925–30; dis- 1 + inhibition
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.
Perhaps his apparent health problems are causing disinhibition.
From Salon ● Dec. 5, 2025
Other research has identified people who score higher than most on meanness or disinhibition, but who don’t seem to get into trouble for antisocial behavior.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 24, 2023
She is the research director of Take This, a non-profit focused on mental health and gaming, and says that desire to impress along with the "online disinhibition effect" can be a toxic combination.
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2023
“Depending on a person’s mental health concerns, artificially increasing their disinhibition in a group setting might not necessarily be a good thing.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
“There’s just so much online aggression — aggression because of online disinhibition and the ways that we forget there’s another human being on the other end of the screen.”
From Washington Post ● Dec. 16, 2022
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.
