Definition of Oedipus complex

1. Noun. A complex of males; desire to possess the mother sexually and to exclude the father; said to be a source of personality disorders if unresolved.

Exact synonyms: Oedipal Complex
Generic synonyms: Complex

Definition of Oedipus complex

1. Noun. (psychoanalysis) In Freudian theory, the complex of emotions aroused in a child by an unconscious sexual desire for the parent of the opposite sex. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Medical Definition of Oedipus complex

1. Attachment of the child to the parent of the opposite sex, accompanied by envious and aggressive feelings toward the parent of the same sex. (12 Dec 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Oedipus Complex

oedemateous
oedematic
oedematous
oedemic
oedipal neurosis
oedipalize
oedipalized
oedipalizes
oedipalizing
oedipally
oedipean
oedipism
oedometer
oeil de boeuf
oeillade
oeillades
oelet
oenanthal
oenanthate
oenanthic
oenanthol
oenanthone
oenanthotoxin
oenanthyl
oenanthylate
oenanthylic

Literary usage of Oedipus complex

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Psychoanalysis and Love by André Tridon (1922)
"The oedipus complex. The complication designated by Freud as the oedipus complex ... The oedipus complex is named after the Greek legend according to which ..."

2. Mysticism, Freudianism and Scientific Psychology by Knight Dunlap (1920)
"101, 102) points out that the Freudian theory of the oedipus complex is taken from Luther, whose statement is in fact as scientific as that of any Freudian. ..."

3. A General introduction to psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud (1920)
"One learns from these observations to what early years these ideas extend back—ideas which we designate as the Oedipus-complex, because this myth realizes ..."

4. Psychoanalysis: Its Theories and Practical Application by Abraham Arden Brill (1912)
"... CHAPTER IX THE oedipus complex The latent influence on normal persons; its negative manifestations in the psychoneuroses and psychoses. ..."

5. Symptomatology, Psychognosis, and Diagnosis of Psychopathic Diseases by Boris Sidis (1914)
"The Freudians have invented a psychopathic oedipus complex of which they make much ... All there is to the Oedipus "complex" is a mat« ter of ordinary ..."

6. An Outline of Abnormal Psychology by James Winfred Bridges (1921)
"The most important pathogenic repressed complex is the so-called oedipus complex, the rivalry with the father for the love of the mother. ..."

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