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Medical Definition of Ego-ideal
1. In psychoanalysis, a more or less conscious ideal of personal excellence toward which an individual strives, and that is derived from a composite image of the personal characteristics of a parent, public figure, or one or more other individuals the person admires. The part of the personality that comprises the goals, aspirations, and aims of the self, usually growing out of the emulation of a significant person with whom one has identified. (05 Mar 2000)