defense mechanism Hear it!

defense mechanism definition

defense mechanism

  1. any self-protective physiological system or reaction of an organism
  2. Psychiatry any thought process, as repression, introjection, or sublimation, unconsciously used by an individual as a defense against feelings of guilt, anxiety, shame, etc.

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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