oedipal complex

1. 1.

   a complex of males; desire to possess the mother sexually and to exclude the father; said to be a source of personality disorders if unresolved

   SynonymsOedipus complex

   Broadercomplex

Questions about oedipal complex

What does oedipal complex mean?

oedipal complex means "a complex of males; desire to possess the mother sexually and to exclude the father; said to be a source of personality disorders if unresolved".

What is another word for oedipal complex?

Close synonyms include Oedipus complex. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is oedipal complex a common word?

oedipal complex is banded "Rare" — specialist or archaic — most readers will not have met it. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.