anal-retentive
adjective
anal-reĀ·tenĀ·tive
| \ ĖÄ-nįµl-ri-Ėten-tiv
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variants:
or anal retentive
Definition of anal-retentive
psychoanalytic theory
: exhibiting or typifying personality traits (such as frugality and obstinacy) held to be psychological consequences of toilet training
Overextending psychic energy during the process of toilet training by holding back can result in fixating at the anal stage, creating an anal retentive personality as an adult. The anal retentive personality is characterized by the tendency to cope with conflicts later in life by demonstrating an extreme sense of cleanliness and orderliness, such as dusting furniture or waxing the car when troubled.— Bernardo J. Carducci
—often used in nontechnical contexts to describe someone as extremely or excessively neat, careful, or precise ā¦ is his father's cloneāintense, focused, fuddy-duddy, severely anal-retentive, or as Archie puts it, "a neat freak."— Curry Kirkpatrick
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More Definitions for anal-retentive
anal-retentive
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of anal-retentive
: extremely or overly neat, careful, or precise
See the full definition for anal-retentive in the English Language Learners Dictionary
anal-retentive
adjective
anal-reĀ·tenĀ·tive
| \ ĖÄn-įµl-ri-Ėten-tiv
\
\
Medical Definition of anal-retentive
(Entry 1 of 2)
: characterized by personality traits (as frugality and obstinacy) held to be psychological sequelae of toilet training : anal sense 2b
anal retentive
nounMedical Definition of anal retentive (Entry 2 of 2)
: an anal-retentive individual