(Psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires.
1It's a psychological defense mechanism, a means of coping with the unbearable.
2The defense mechanism wasn't a thinking being, capable of making judgment calls.
3Jeth rolled his eyes, sarcasm the only self- defense mechanism left to him.
4Objective: A defense mechanism is an automatic psychological process necessary for successful adaptation.
5He was irritating because that was what he used as a defense mechanism.
6Autophagy is an important host defense mechanism which targets invading pathogens.
7Lymphocyte-mediated cytotoxicity represents one defense mechanism that contributes to transplant rejection.
8Melanization is a universal defense mechanism of insects against microbial infection.
9That didn't stop her tourism gene from kicking in like a defense mechanism.
10The armadillo's smell was horrible-somedefense mechanism, Mallory guessed-butshe couldn't move away.
11Loss of appetite, in that case, is both a blessing and a self- defense mechanism.
12This is one burg where they build a defense mechanism at an early age.
13Normal mucociliary flow is a significant defense mechanism in the prevention of acute sinusitis.
14Wang could be sarcastic at times, but it might just be a defense mechanism.
15This has been ignored or explained away as a defense mechanism in previous investigations.
16It is a defense mechanism rationalizing forces ungoverned and ungovernable.
Translations for defense mechanism