ego ideal
noun Psychoanalysis.
a more or less conscious ideal of personal excellence derived from a composite image of the characteristics of persons, initially those of the parents, with whom the individual identifies.
Origin of ego ideal
First recorded in 1920–25
Words nearby ego ideal
egmc,
egmont,
ego,
ego analysis,
ego boost,
ego ideal,
ego identity,
ego psychology,
ego trip,
ego-alien,
ego-dystonic
British Dictionary definitions for ego ideal
ego ideal
noun
psychoanal
an internal ideal of personal perfection that represents what one wants to be rather than what one ought to be and is derived from one's early relationship with one's parents
See also superego
Medical definitions for ego ideal
ego ideal
n.
In psychoanalytic theory, the part of one's ego that contains an idealized self based on those people, especially parents and peers, one admires and wishes to emulate.