Meaning of DEFENSE MECHANISM

Pronunciation:			di'fens 'meku`nizum
WordNet Dictionary
	Definition:		[n]  (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
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	Synonyms:		defence, defence mechanism, defence reaction, defense, defense reaction
	See Also:		compensation, conversion, denial, displacement, idealisation, idealization, intellectualisation, intellectualization, isolation, process, projection, psychoanalytic process, rationalisation, rationalization, reaction formation, regression, repression, unconscious process
Thesaurus Terms
	Related Terms:		alienation, autism, autistic thinking, avoidance, avoidance mechanism, avoidance reaction, avoiding reaction, blame-shifting, block, blocking, circumvention, compensation, conversion, decompensation, defence, defense, defense in depth, defenses, dereism, dereistic thinking, deterrent capacity, displacement, dissociation, dodge, duck, ego defenses, elusion, elusiveness, emotional insulation, equivocation, escape, escape into fantasy, escape mechanism, escapism, evasion, evasive action, evasiveness, fantasizing, fantasy, flight, forbearance, forestalling, forestallment, getting around, guard, isolation, jink, mental block, negative taxis, negativism, neutrality, nonintervention, noninvolvement, overcompensation, prevention, projection, protection, psychological defenses, psychotaxis, rationalization, refraining, repression, resistance, self-defense, self-preservation, self-protection, shunning, shunting off, shy, sidestep, sidetracking, slip, sociological adjustive reactions, sublimation, substitution, suppression, symbolization, the defensive, the runaround, ward, wishful thinking, wish-fulfillment fantasy, withdrawal, zigzag