life instinct

life instinct

noun
See under death instinct.

Origin:
1905–10

00:10

00:09

00:08

00:07

00:06

00:05

00:04

00:03

00:02

00:01

Life instinct is always a great word to know.
So is bezoar. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
an extraordinary or unusual thing, person, or event; an exceptional example or instance.
Dictionary.com Unabridged

death instinct

noun
1.
suicidal tendency or inclination; predisposition to self-destruction.
2.
Psychoanalysis. an impulse to withdraw or destroy, working in opposition to forces urging survival and creation (life instinct).

Origin:
1915–20
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To life instinct
Collins
World English Dictionary
life instinct
 
n
psychoanal the instinct for reproduction and self-preservation

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

death instinct n.
A primitive impulse for destruction, decay, and death, manifested by a turning away from pleasure, postulated by Sigmund Freud as coexisting with and opposing the life instinct. Also called Thanatos.

life instinct n.
In psychoanalytic theory, the instinct of self-preservation and sexual procreation.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature