superego

American  

[soo-per-ee-goh, -eg-oh] / ˌsu pərˈi goʊ, -ˈɛg oʊ /

noun

Psychoanalysis.

superegos plural

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

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superego British  

/ -ˈɛɡəʊ, ˌsuːpərˈiːɡəʊ /

noun

1. 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 parents See also id 1 ego

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superego Cultural  

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of superego

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

Explanation

In psychoanalysis, the superego is the part of a person's mind that helps keep the id in check, guiding the person to follow learned rules rather than impulses. Sigmund Freud invented the terms ego, id, and superego when he developed his theories of psychoanalysis. They represent three parts of the human psyche, or mind. The superego is where morals and conscience come from, according to Freud. Your superego comes from what you've learned from parents, teachers, and other adults in your life. The word superego is the closest literal translation from the original German über-Ich.

Example Sentences

The Id bombards the Ego with an endless hunger for indulgence, while the Superego demands social conformity.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2020

Superego Elizabeth is a tense bundle of inhibitions clamped in the vise of social norms.

From Time Magazine Archive

Having divided the mind into Conscious and Unconscious, he now divided it again into Id, Ego and Superego.

From Time Magazine Archive

Last, there is the Superego, which is the censor or conscience.

From Time Magazine Archive

This was wonderful; screaming in delight, they all laid hold of the other end, and Mike and Mitzi and Superego and Complex ran to help them.

From Little Fuzzy by Piper, H. Beam

Related Words

• shame