displacement

noun dis·place·ment \(ˌ)dis-ˈplā-smənt, di-ˈsplā-\

Definition of DISPLACEMENT

: the act or process of displacing : the state of being displaced

a : the volume or weight of a fluid (as water) displaced by a floating body (as a ship) of equal weight

b : the difference between the initial position of something (as a body or geometric figure) and any later position

c : the volume displaced by a piston (as in a pump or an engine) in a single stroke; also : the total volume so displaced by all the pistons in an internal combustion engine (as in an automobile)

a : the redirection of an emotion or impulse from its original object (as an idea or person) to another

b : the substitution of another form of behavior for what is usual or expected especially when the usual response is nonadaptive —called also displacement activity, displacement behavior

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First Known Use of DISPLACEMENT

1611

Related to DISPLACEMENT

Synonyms: banishment, deportation, exile, expatriation, expulsion, relegation

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

Rhymes with DISPLACEMENT

abasement, debasement, defacement, effacement, embracement, emplacement, encasement, enlacement, misplacement, outplacement, replacement

Medical Dictionary

displacement

noun dis·place·ment \-ˈplā-smənt\

Medical Definition of DISPLACEMENT

a : the act or process of removing something from its usual or proper place or the state resulting from this : dislocation <the displacement of a knee joint> b : percolation 3

: the quantity in which or the degree to which something is displaced

a : the redirection of an emotion or impulse from its original object (as an idea or person) to something that is more acceptable b : sublimation 2 c : the substitution of another form of behavior for what is usual or expected especially when the usual response is nonadaptive—called also displacement activity, displacement behavior