| castration complex | |
| —n | |
| psychoanal an unconscious fear of having one's genitals removed, as a punishment for wishing to have sex with a parent | |
castration complex n.
In psychoanalytic theory, a child's fear of injury to the genitals by the parent of the same sex as punishment for unconscious guilt over oedipal feelings.
An unconscious fear of injury from those in authority.