Noun: depersonalization dee,pur-su-nu-lu'zey-shun [N. Amer], dee,pur-su-nu-lI'zey-shun [Brit]
- Representing a human being as a physical thing deprived of personal qualities or individuality
"according to Marx, treating labour as a commodity exemplified the depersonalization of the individual";
- depersonalisation [Brit], reification
- Emotional dissociative disorder in which there is loss of contact with your own personal reality accompanied by feelings of unreality and strangeness
"During episodes of depersonalization, he felt detached from his own thoughts and body, as if observing himself from outside";
- depersonalisation [Brit], depersonalization disorder, depersonalisation disorder [Brit], depersonalization neurosis, depersonalisation neurosis [Brit]
- (existentialism) a loss of personal identity; a feeling of being an anonymous cog in an impersonal social machine
"The factory worker experienced depersonalization in the monotonous routine";
- depersonalisation [Brit]
Derived forms: depersonalizations
Type of: dissociative disorder, mental condition, mental state, objectification, psychological condition, psychological state
Encyclopedia: Depersonalization