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

1 sense of reaction formation

Sense 1
reaction formation -- ((psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously develops attitudes and behavior that are the opposite of unacceptable repressed desires and impulses and serve to conceal them; "his strict morality is just a reaction formation to hide his sexual drive")
       => defense mechanism, defense reaction, defence mechanism, defence reaction, defense, defence -- ((psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires)