noun
(psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which a person unconsciously develops attitudes and behavior that are the opposite of unacceptable repressed desires and impulses and serve to conceal them
-
his strict morality is just a reaction formation to hide his sexual drive
• Topics: ↑psychiatry, ↑psychopathology, ↑psychological medicine
• Hypernyms: ↑defense mechanism, ↑defense reaction, ↑defence mechanism, ↑defence reaction, ↑defense, ↑defence
Useful english dictionary. 2012.