Word.ws English Dictionary

Phaedra complex

Phaedra complex noun: a designation to the sexual desire of a stepparent for their stepchild; the term has been extended to cover difficult relationships between stepparents and stepchildren in general.

Noun

Phaedra complex (uncountable)

  1. (informal) A designation to the sexual desire of a stepparent for their stepchild; the term has been extended to cover difficult relationships between stepparents and stepchildren in general.

Origin of Phaedra complex

Named for the Cretan princess Phaedra who fell in love with her stepson, Hippolytus of Athens in Greek Mythology.

Questions about Phaedra complex

What does Phaedra complex mean?
Phaedra complex means a designation to the sexual desire of a stepparent for their stepchild; the term has been extended to cover difficult relationships between stepparents and stepchildren in general.
What part of speech is Phaedra complex?
Phaedra complex is a noun.

Words near Phaedra complex in the dictionary

  1. Phaeacian
  2. Phaeacians
  3. Phaedo
  4. Phaedon
  5. Phaedra
  6. Phaedra complex
  7. Phaedran
  8. Phaedriades
  9. Phaedrian
  10. Phaedrus
  11. phaegopterine

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Phaedra 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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Cite this entry: “Phaedra complex.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/phaedra_complex. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.