Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • transitive verb To invest emotional energy in (a person, object, or idea).

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • verb to inject with libidinal energy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb To focus one's emotional energies on something.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb inject with libidinal energy

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Back-formation from cathexis.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Back-formation from cathexis and cathectic.

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Examples

Comments

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  • Back-formation from cathexis.

    August 9, 2007

  • Every time I hear this word, I think of "decathecting", coined by Mike Doughty in this song.

    April 6, 2008

  • maybe with the help of a flying squirl?

    August 27, 2008