oedipal

American  

[ed-uh-puhl, ee-duh-] / ˈɛd ə pəl, ˈi də- /

adjective

(often initial capital letter)

1. of, characterized by, or resulting from the Oedipus complex.

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Etymology

Origin of oedipal

First recorded in 1935–40; Oedip(us complex) + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Scholars have long dismissed the hack analysis that George W. Bush was driven by Oedipal issues or Halliburton.

From The Wall Street Journal

That Darth Vader revelation altered the drama from political animosity to Oedipal mythos.

From Los Angeles Times

Most involve George Gershwin: Levant’s friend, benefactor and bête noire, dead 20 years yet still a kind of Oedipal rival.

From New York Times

Rather than slotting in as a “horror” film, it can be categorized a little less neatly as a surreal three-hour Homeric odyssey about Jewish guilt, Oedipal angst and somebody named “Birthday Boy Stab Man.”

From Seattle Times

Then again, if there is a point to “Beau Is Afraid,” I suppose it’s that parent-child relationships, particularly mother-son relationships, are so elemental, so Oedipal, that there can be no rational understanding thereof.

From Los Angeles Times