sublimation
sublimation — noun
- sublimationsingular
- sublimationsplural
1. the process of taking a powerful feeling or drive — especially a sexual or aggre
the process of taking a powerful feeling or drive — especially a sexual or aggressive one — and turning it into something constructive, like art, sport, or hard work
Tara described her long-distance running as a sublimation of the anger she felt after the divorce.
Freud believed that sublimation was one of the healthiest ways the mind handles forbidden impulses.
psychology domain: Freudian concept
The therapist suggested that his obsessive cleaning might be a sublimation of deeper anxieties.
For Eliska, painting became a sublimation of grief she could not express in words.
- displacement
more general; can be negative or unconscious, while sublimation is specifically constructive
- redirection
broader term for any kind of rerouting, not limited to psychology
sublimation — verb
- sublimationpresent simple I / you / we / they
- sublimations3rd person singular
- sublimationing-ing form
- sublimationedpast simple
1. to change from a solid directly into a gas without first becoming a liquid, or t
to change from a solid directly into a gas without first becoming a liquid, or to make a substance do this
At room temperature, dry ice sublimates into carbon dioxide gas within minutes.
intransitive: substance + sublimates
The chemist heated the iodine crystals gently and watched them sublimate into a violet vapour.
transitive: heat + substance + and + sublimate
Naphthalene mothballs slowly sublimate in a closed drawer, releasing a sharp smell that keeps insects away.
On a freezing sunny day, snow can sublimate without ever melting into water first.
The lab technician used a vacuum chamber to sublimate the camphor, leaving impurities behind as a dark powder.
- vaporize
broader — includes liquid-to-gas transitions as well, not limited to solid-to-gas
用法筆記
Transitive when a person or device causes the change; intransitive when the substance itself undergoes the change.
常見錯誤
2. to take a basic urge or strong emotion and redirect its energy into something so
to take a basic urge or strong emotion and redirect its energy into something socially valued — for example, turning aggressive feelings into competitive sport or sexual desire into creative work
Theo sublimated his frustration with the unfair ruling into a series of sharp, well-argued essays.
sublimate + emotion + into + creative output
Many athletes sublimate their aggressive impulses into the controlled violence of the boxing ring.
She sublimated her unrequited love into a novel that won the national book prize.
Hannah found that volunteering at the animal shelter helped her sublimate the loneliness she had carried for years.
- act out
expressing an impulse directly rather than redirecting it constructively
文法句型
sublimate + noun phrase + into + noun phrase
用法筆記
Always transitive. The object is the emotion or impulse being redirected, not the creative or productive result.
常見錯誤
3. to lift something ordinary or basic to a higher, more refined level — treating a
to lift something ordinary or basic to a higher, more refined level — treating a raw experience or material as if purifying it into something nobler or more beautiful
The playwright sublimated the petty gossip of a small town into a timeless tragedy about betrayal.
sublimate + raw material + into + elevated result
A simple folk tune was sublimated by the composer into an orchestral suite that moved audiences to tears.
passive: was sublimated by + agent + into + result
Over decades, Amani sublimated her raw talent into an art that felt sacred to anyone who watched her perform.
Unlike his contemporaries, who merely recorded events, the historian sublimated dry facts into a narrative as gripping as any novel.
A photograph of peeling paint was sublimated by the curator into a meditation on decay and memory.
文法句型
sublimate + noun phrase + into + noun phrase
用法筆記
Figurative extension of the chemistry sense — treats non-physical things as if they were being purified through a phase change. Often used in arts and literary criticism.