reaction formation

1. (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 (synset 113567619)
   "his strict morality is just a reaction formation to hide his sexual drive"
   referred to in: psychiatry, psychological medicine, psychopathology - the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders
   is a type of: defence, defence mechanism, defence reaction, defense, defense mechanism, defense reaction - (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires

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