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Noun: defense reaction
Usage: US (elsewhere: defence reaction)
  1. (psychiatry) an unconscious process that tries to reduce the anxiety associated with instinctive desires
    "Repression is a common defense reaction used to cope with traumatic memories";
    - defense mechanism [US], defence mechanism [Brit, Cdn], defence reaction [Brit, Cdn], defense [US], defence [Brit, Cdn]

Derived forms: defense reactions

Type of: process, psychoanalytic process, unconscious process