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escape mechanism

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noun Psychology.
  1. a means of avoiding an unpleasant life situation, as daydreaming.
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Origin of escape mechanism

First recorded in 1930–35
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for escape mechanism

escape mechanism

noun
  1. psychol any emotional or mental mechanism that enables a person to avoid acknowledging unpleasant or threatening realitiesSee also escapism
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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