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free association

Definition of free association

noun

[mass noun]
  • 1 Psychology the mental process by which one word or image may spontaneously suggest another without any necessary logical connection.
  • a psychoanalytic technique for investigation of the unconscious mind, in which a relaxed subject reports all passing thoughts without reservation.
  • 2the forming of a group, political alliance, or other organization without any external restriction: the right of free association

Derivatives

free-associate

verb

free association in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of free association in the US English dictionary