ab·re·act

(ăb′rē-ăkt′)

tr.v. ab·re·act·ed, ab·re·act·ing, ab·re·acts

To release (repressed emotions) by acting out, as in words, behavior, or the imagination, the situation causing the conflict.

[Translation of German abreagieren : ab-, away + reagieren, to react.]

ab′re·ac′tion n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

abreact

(ˌæbrɪˈækt)

(Psychoanalysis) (tr) to alleviate (emotional tension) through abreaction

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

abreact

Past participle: abreacted
Gerund: abreacting

Imperative
abreact
abreact

Present
I abreact
you abreact
he/she/it abreacts
we abreact
you abreact
they abreact

Preterite
I abreacted
you abreacted
he/she/it abreacted
we abreacted
you abreacted
they abreacted

Present Continuous
I am abreacting
you are abreacting
he/she/it is abreacting
we are abreacting
you are abreacting
they are abreacting

Present Perfect
I have abreacted
you have abreacted
he/she/it has abreacted
we have abreacted
you have abreacted
they have abreacted

Past Continuous
I was abreacting
you were abreacting
he/she/it was abreacting
we were abreacting
you were abreacting
they were abreacting

Past Perfect
I had abreacted
you had abreacted
he/she/it had abreacted
we had abreacted
you had abreacted
they had abreacted

Future
I will abreact
you will abreact
he/she/it will abreact
we will abreact
you will abreact
they will abreact

Future Perfect
I will have abreacted
you will have abreacted
he/she/it will have abreacted
we will have abreacted
you will have abreacted
they will have abreacted

Future Continuous
I will be abreacting
you will be abreacting
he/she/it will be abreacting
we will be abreacting
you will be abreacting
they will be abreacting

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been abreacting
you have been abreacting
he/she/it has been abreacting
we have been abreacting
you have been abreacting
they have been abreacting

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been abreacting
you will have been abreacting
he/she/it will have been abreacting
we will have been abreacting
you will have been abreacting
they will have been abreacting

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been abreacting
you had been abreacting
he/she/it had been abreacting
we had been abreacting
you had been abreacting
they had been abreacting

Conditional
I would abreact
you would abreact
he/she/it would abreact
we would abreact
you would abreact
they would abreact

Past Conditional
I would have abreacted
you would have abreacted
he/she/it would have abreacted
we would have abreacted
you would have abreacted
they would have abreacted

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb

abreact - discharge bad feelings or tension through verbalization

depth psychology, psychoanalysis, analysis - a set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders; based on the theories of Sigmund Freud; "his physician recommended psychoanalysis"

allay, still, ease, relieve - lessen the intensity of or calm; "The news eased my conscience"; "still the fears"

Translations

abreact

vt (Psych) → abreagieren

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

"But the National Artist Award itself, especially in the halcyon days BC (Before Caparas), is a safe subject on which I am free to abreact before fungi from Alzheimer's overrode my memory entirely.

Reliving Ishmael Bernal

This allowed them to encounter, abreact, and thereby release old repressed (stuck) emotions and beliefs.

Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy: A protocol for re-writing the COEX

Says David Wolber, PNT's artistic director, "Detroit has so much empty space that if you've got the moxie and the ability to function on four hours of sleep, you don't need money as much." Take the Abreact Performance Space, which doesn't charge admission and is subsidized by its four directors, one of whom uses his loft as a venue for its mostly modern-drama fare.

The lake effect: Southeast Michigan may be reeling from the recession, but you'd never guess it from the region's thriving theatre scene