from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- n. Biology A physiological reaction of an organism used in self-protection, as against infection.
- n. Psychology Any of various usually unconscious mental processes, including denial, projection, rationalization, and repression, that protect the ego from shame, anxiety, conflict, loss of self-esteem, or other unacceptable feelings or thoughts.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
- n. A psychological strategy used unconsciously by people to cope with harmful or stressful situations.
- n. An automatic reaction of the body against foreign antibodies.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- n. (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
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