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Noun: defence mechanism
Usage: Brit, Cdn (US: defense mechanism)
  1. (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
    - defense mechanism [US], defense reaction [US], defence reaction [Brit, Cdn], defense [US], defence [Brit, Cdn]

Derived forms: defence mechanisms

Type of: process, psychoanalytic process, unconscious process

Encyclopedia: Defence mechanism

Nearest

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