reality principle

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noun Psychoanalysis.

the motivating force or mechanism by which the child, who has previously sought immediate gratification of all wishes, realizes that gratification must sometimes be deferred or forgone.

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Origin of reality principle

First recorded in 1920–25

Words nearby reality principle

realistic, reality, reality-based, reality check, reality fiction, reality principle, reality show, reality testing, reality TV, realization, realize

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use reality principle in a sentence

But if Democrats are faced with the reality of a glut of qualified candidates, Republicans are assembling more of a fantasy team.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races|David Freedlander|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
That is a reality that still eats at Grace Castro and Yvonne Lozoya.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro|Bill Conroy|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
His hero, Bruce Springsteen, is a gazillionaire, but he still manages to come across as a regular guy, so perception is reality.
Will Chris Christie Regret His Cowboy Hug?|Matt Lewis|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He was a dreamer, an idealist, grounded in the reality he observed around him.
Mario Cuomo, Always Moving Us Toward the Light|Mike Barnicle|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST

I mean, the reality of it was, I had to go out and get on a horse, and ride in, shoot the gun — how hard was that, right?
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Many so-called "humming tones" are given for practice, but in accepting them observe whether the foregoing principle is obeyed.
Expressive Voice Culture|Jessie Eldridge Southwick
The intensity of his sensations seemed inexplicable, unless some reality, some truth, lay behind them.
The Wave|Algernon Blackwood
With less intelligent children traces of this tendency to take pictorial representation for reality may appear as late as four.
Children's Ways|James Sully
The grand thing is to have each of your five fingers go "dum, dum," an equal number of times, which is the principle of all three!
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
Thus they become accustomed to act as christians, to become so in reality in his time.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various

British Dictionary definitions for reality principle

reality principle

noun

psychoanal control of behaviour by the ego to meet the conditions imposed by the external world

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