inferiority complex

inferiority complex

noun

Definition of INFERIORITY COMPLEX

1

: an acute sense of personal inferiority often resulting either in timidity or through overcompensation in exaggerated aggressiveness

2

: a collective sense of cultural, regional, or national inferiority

Examples of INFERIORITY COMPLEX

1. His shyness is the result of an inferiority complex.

First Known Use of INFERIORITY COMPLEX

1922

inferiority complex

noun    (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of INFERIORITY COMPLEX

: an acute sense of personal inferiority resulting either in timidity or through overcompensation in exaggerated aggressiveness

inferiority complex

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Acute sense of personal inferiority, often resulting in either timidity or (through overcompensation) exaggerated aggressiveness. Though once a standard psychological concept, particularly among followers of Alfred Adler, it has lost much of its usefulness through imprecise popular misuse.