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life instinct

noun

psychoanal the instinct for reproduction and self-preservation

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You may have read the word "simmer" in a recipe or two, but what does it really mean?
To cook in water that begins cold and then reaches a boil.
To stew in a sauce for a long time.
To cook in water, just below boiling temperature.
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Words nearby life instinct

lifeguard, Life Guards, lifehack, life history, life imprisonment, life instinct, life insurance, life interest, Life is short; art is long, life is too short, life jacket
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

Example sentences from the Web for life instinct

  • The gradual disappearance of my “life-instinct,” which already began a few years ago, is now more marked, more precise.

    Life of Elie Metchnikoff, 1845-1916|Olga Metchnikoff

Medical definitions for life instinct

life instinct

n.

In psychoanalytic theory, the instinct of self-preservation and sexual procreation.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.