transference
Americannoun
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the act or process of transferring.
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the fact of being transferred.
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Psychoanalysis.
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the shift of emotions, especially those experienced in childhood, from one person or object to another, especially the transfer of feelings about a parent to an analyst.
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noun
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the act or an instance of transferring or the state of being transferred
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psychoanal the redirection of attitudes and emotions towards a substitute, such as towards the analyst during therapy
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of transference
From the New Latin word trānsferentia, dating back to 1675–85. See transfer, -ence
Explanation
Transference occurs when something carries over from one thing to another, like the transference of data between computers. Use transference to describe the act of passing something from one person or situation to another, such as a transference of power that occurs when a new leader takes over. Students of psychology may already know it as a clinical term that describes redirecting feelings from one person to another. For example, someone experiencing this kind of transference might view a teacher as a father figure, especially if his or her father isn't around much.
Vocabulary lists containing transference
Elijah of Buxton
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The Girl on the Train
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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.
Transference and countertransference are psychological terms expressing the professional's requirement to be cautious with personal boundaries.
From Salon • May 23, 2021
Transference and countertransferance—offspring of Freudian psychoanalysis—are cogs in the same moribund engine.
From Scientific American • Jul. 12, 2020
Ubisoft Montreal and Elijah Wood’s film studio SpectreVision are working on a virtual reality “psychological thriller” called Transference.
From The Verge • Jun. 12, 2017
The last time Spoon released an album, 2010’s Transference, they had just been named Artist of the Decade by Metacritic.
From The Guardian • Jul. 31, 2014
Transference of the round table to the top of the other table.
From Mysterious Psychic Forces An Account of the Author's Investigations in Psychical Research, Together with Those of Other European Savants by Flammarion, Camille
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
