Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of noun defense_mechanism

1 sense of defense mechanism

Sense 1
defense mechanism, defense reaction, defence mechanism, defence reaction, defense, defence -- ((psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires)
       => psychoanalytic process -- (a process that is assumed to occur in psychoanalytic theory)
       => process, unconscious process -- (a mental process that you are not directly aware of; "the process of denial")