1. Removal from the normal location or position. 2. The adding to a fluid (particularly a gas) in an open vessel one of greater density whereby the first is expelled. 3. In chemistry, a change in which one element, radical, or molecule is replaced by another, or in which one element exchanges electric charges with another by reduction or oxidation. 4. In psychiatry, the transfer of impulses from one expression to another, as from fighting to talking.
- mesial d. SYN: mesioversion.
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dis·place·ment -'plā-smənt n
1 a) the act or process of removing something from its usual or proper place or the state resulting from this: DISLOCATION <the \displacement of a knee joint>
b) PERCOLATION (3)
2) the quantity in which or the degree to which something is displaced
3 a) the redirection of an emotion or impulse from its original object (as an idea or person) to something that is more acceptable
c) the substitution of another form of behavior for what is usual or expected esp. when the usual response is nonadaptive called also displacement activity, displacement behavior
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n.
(in psychology) the substitution of one type of behaviour for another, usually the substitution of a relatively harmless activity for a harmful one; for example, kicking the cat instead of one's boss.
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dis·place·ment (dis-plāsґmənt) 1. malposition. 2. percolation. 3. a defense mechanism in which emotions, ideas, wishes, or impulses are unconsciously shifted from their original object to a more acceptable, usually less threatening, substitute. 4. in dentistry, the malposition of the crown and root of one or more teeth from the normal line of occlusion; also the deflection of the mandible from its normal path of closure, i.e., posterior displacement. 5. in a chemical reaction, the replacement of one atom or group in a molecule by another.Medical dictionary. 2011.