cathectic
/kəˈθɛktɪk/
cathectic adjective: of or pertaining to a connection that is charged with emotional energy.
Adjective
cathectic (comparative more cathectic, superlative most cathectic)
- Of or pertaining to a connection that is charged with emotional energy.
- What we are dealing with here is more cathectic energy than the quota of affect as such, but the second is included in the first, as the following quotation shows:1999, André Green, translated by Alan Sheridan, The Fabric of Affect in the Psychoanalytic Discourse, Psychology Press, page 14
- Viewing animals inside an enclosure bounded by barriers agitates many people simply because the perspective seems wrong. This remnant of modernism is perhaps the most cathectic concern and source of the sometimes intense criticism of zoos.2006, Stephen Spotte, Zoos in Postmodernism, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, page 143
Forms of cathectic
| comparative | more cathectic |
|---|---|
| superlative | most cathectic |
Origin of cathectic
Borrowing from Ancient Greek καθεκτικός (kathektikós, “capable of retaining”)
Words formed from cathectic
Words that rhyme with cathectic
- symplectic
- apoplectic
- dialectic
- hectic
- smectic
- analectic
- anorectic
- catalectic
- eclectic
- eutectic
- monolectic
- pectic
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- plectic
- polylectic
- syntectic
- acatalectic
- acathectic
- anatectic
- antiapoplectic
- anticachectic
- anticataplectic
- anticathectic
- antiplectic
- brachycatalectic
- cachectic
- cataplectic
- catatectic
- cosymplectic
- cotectic
- countercathectic
- demodectic
- diaplectic
- dicatalectic
- dyslectic
- dystectic
- ecolectic
- ephectic
- hyosymplectic
- hypercatalectic
- hypereutectic
- hypoeutectic
- ideolectic
- idiolectic
- karyorrhectic
- lectic
- metaplectic
- metatectic
- methectic
- metriplectic
- monotectic
- multisymplectic
- nektic
- nondialectic
- noneclectic
- nonsymplectic
- oligolectic
- orectic
- orthosymplectic
- paraplectic
- periplectic
Questions about cathectic
- What does cathectic mean?
- Cathectic means of or pertaining to a connection that is charged with emotional energy.
- What part of speech is cathectic?
- Cathectic is an adjective.
- How do you pronounce cathectic?
- Cathectic is pronounced /kəˈθɛktɪk/.
Words near cathectic in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: cathectic (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “cathectic.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cathectic. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.