displacement

dis·place·ment

noun \(ˌ)dis-ˈplā-smənt, di-ˈsplā-\

Definition of DISPLACEMENT

1

: the act or process of displacing : the state of being displaced

2

a : the volume or weight of a fluid (as water) displaced by a floating body (as a ship) of equal weight b : the difference between the initial position of something (as a body or geometric figure) and any later position c : the volume displaced by a piston (as in a pump or an engine) in a single stroke; also : the total volume so displaced by all the pistons in an internal combustion engine (as in an automobile)

3

a : the redirection of an emotion or impulse from its original object (as an idea or person) to another b : the substitution of another form of behavior for what is usual or expected especially when the usual response is nonadaptive —called also displacement activity, displacement behavior

Examples of DISPLACEMENT

1. The war has caused the displacement of thousands of people.
2. displacements in the Earth's crust
3. soil displacement caused by farming

First Known Use of DISPLACEMENT

1611

Related to DISPLACEMENT

Synonyms: banishment, deportation, exile, expatriation, expulsion, relegation

Related Words: ostracism; extradition; diaspora, dispersion, scattering; emigration, migration; evacuation; ethnic cleansing, transportation; dispossession, ejection, ouster

Near Antonyms: repatriation, return; immigration

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Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Rhymes with DISPLACEMENT

abasement, debasement, defacement, effacement, embracement, emplacement, encasement, enlacement, misplacement, outplacement, replacement