psychomachia

British

/ ˌsaɪkəʊˈmækɪə, ˈsaɪkəʊməkɪ /

noun

conflict of the soul

"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

Etymology

Origin of psychomachia

C17: from Late Latin psӯchomachia, title of a poem by Prudentius (about 400), from Greek psukhē spirit + makhē battle

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.

Miranda’s ravaged inner life is exteriorized as in the medieval genre of psychomachia in which virtue and vice wage a battle for the soul.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 30, 2021

He views his interior life as a psychomachia, a struggle between “the Dictates of my Fancy” and reason, common sense and various premonitions or “secret Hints” from guardian spirits who inhabit an “invisible World.”

From Washington Post • Apr. 23, 2019

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023