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superego

[soo-per-ee-goh, -eg-oh]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR superego ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural su·per·e·gos. Psychoanalysis.

the part of the personality representing the conscience, formed in early life by internalization of the standards of parents and other models of behavior.

Origin of superego

1890–95; translation of German Über-Ich (Freud); see super-, ego

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for superego

shame, conscience, compunction, anxiety, hesitation, reluctance, censor, twinge, difficulty, demur, pause, uneasiness, qualm, perplexity, caution, hesitancy, reconsideration, faltering, duty, morals

Examples from the Web for superego

Contemporary Examples of superego

Imagine that the superego comes as a low-voltage father who cannot stop struggling with his bowels.
Who Is Philip Roth’s Portnoy Satirizing?
Bernard Avishai
August 28, 2012
His words come in a torrent, an id-gush; I imagine his superego watching with its usual resignation from the balcony.
Rick Sanchez Licks His Wounds
Adam Hanft
January 9, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for superego

superego

noun plural -gos

psychoanal that part of the unconscious mind that acts as a conscience for the ego, developing mainly from the relationship between a child and his parentsSee also id 1, ego

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

Word Origin and History for superego

n.

that part of the psyche which controls the impulses of the id," 1924, as a translation of German über-Ich; see super- and ego.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

superego in Medicine

superego

[sōō′pər-ē′gō, -ĕg′ō]

n. pl. su•per•e•gos

In psychoanalytic theory, the division of the psyche that censors and restrains the ego and has identified itself unconsciously with important persons from early life. It results from incorporating the values and wishes of these persons into one's own standards.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

superego in Culture

superego

[(sooh-puhr-ee-goh)]

In Freudian psychology, the part of the psyche that incorporates parental or community values and standards and acts as an inner check on behavior. The superego and ego, responding to social demands, are often in conflict with the primitive impulses of the id.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.