anticathexis

an·ti·ca·thex·is

noun \-kə-ˈthek-səs, -ka-\

plural ; an·ti·ca·thex·es \-ˌsēz\ (audio pronunciation)

Definition of ANTICATHEXIS

: the transfer of mental or emotional energy from an impulse to one of an opposite kind <fear of suffocation may be expressed by way of anticathexis in the words “free to breathe”>

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