What does "cathectic" mean?

Of or pertaining to a connection that is charged with emotional energy.

What is a synonym for "cathectic"?

Common synonyms include: attracted, concerned, curious, enthusiastic, excited, fascinated.

Cathectic

//kəˈθɛktɪk// adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1
Of or pertaining to a connection that is charged with emotional energy.
"What we are dealing with here is more cathectic energy than the quota of affect as such, but the second is included in the first, as the following quotation shows:"

Adjective

1
of or relating to cathexis wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

attracted concerned curious enthusiastic excited fascinated

Example

More examples

"What we are dealing with here is more cathectic energy than the quota of affect as such, but the second is included in the first, as the following quotation shows:"

Etymology

Borrowing from Ancient Greek καθεκτικός (kathektikós, “capable of retaining”)

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.