free-as·so·ci·ate

(frē′ə-sō′sē-āt′, -shē-)

intr.v. free-as·so·ci·at·ed, free-as·so·ci·at·ing, free-as·so·ci·ates

To engage in free association.

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.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb

free-associate - associate freely; "Let's associate freely to bring up old memories"

psychotherapy - the treatment of mental or emotional problems by psychological means

associate, colligate, link, relate, tie in, connect, link up - make a logical or causal connection; "I cannot connect these two pieces of evidence in my mind"; "colligate these facts"; "I cannot relate these events at all"

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References in periodicals archive

ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S FILMS have always invited what Freud called "wild analysis." ("You Freud, me Jane?" Tippi Hedren's character says to Sean Connery in Mamie [1964], as he forces her to free-associate.) Indeed, it's hard to think of any other filmmaker who has been called on to prove so many points by so many critics.

Smoke screen: Ben Kafka on D. A. Miller's Hidden Hitchcock

She is happy to dismiss the "critic behind the curtain" effect: "You should feel quite at liberty to free-associate" about aromas and flavors rather than swallowing the boilerplate descriptions of "tired old professionals." If not a 24-hour course, it's a perfect weekend party.

Selections for the happy home bartender

What this means: If you become stuck, try working briefly on something that occupies your brain a completely different way, allowing you to free-associate about the earlier challenge.

Shifting gears: crank up creativity by changing activities

In analysis, the patient is meant to free-associate, with no set end goal in mind.

A Contemporary Freudian Slip

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