Word.ws English Dictionary

Electra complex

Electra complex noun: the theory that a female's psychological development involves a sexual attachment to the father and jealousy of the mother.

Noun

Electra complex (plural Electra complexes)

  1. The theory that a female's psychological development involves a sexual attachment to the father and jealousy of the mother.
    • "No plot! Why, dammit girl, it's all plot, woven about that most fascinating of human problems, the Electra complex!"1961, Xavier Herbert, Soldiers' Women, Netley, SA: Fontana Books, published 1978, page 234

Forms of Electra complex

pluralElectra complexes

Origin of Electra complex

With reference to Electra of Greek mythology, who killed her mother.

Questions about Electra complex

What does Electra complex mean?
Electra complex means the theory that a female's psychological development involves a sexual attachment to the father and jealousy of the mother.
What part of speech is Electra complex?
Electra complex is a noun.
What is the plural of Electra complex?
The plural of Electra complex is Electra complexes.

Words near Electra complex in the dictionary

  1. electorships
  2. electour
  3. electours
  4. electr-
  5. Electra
  6. Electra complex
  7. Electra complexes
  8. electracy
  9. electragist
  10. electragists
  11. electragol

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Electra complex (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.

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