2 meanings
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1 —
(Freud's definition)
Definition
psychoanalysis: the conscious mind- The ego tries to satisfy the unconscious desires of the id.
ego = psychoanalysis: the conscious mind
2 —as in:
bruised her ego
Definition
one's sense of self-esteem, or sense of importance, or sense of ability- She has such an inflated ego, she probably thinks we planned the whole thing for her.
ego = sense of importance
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- Try not to bruise her ego while offering advice.
- I'm trying to think about this without letting my ego get in the way.
- "I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it ain't even funny."
Crooks had reduced himself to nothing. There was no personality, no ego—nothing to arouse either like or dislike.John Steinbeck -- Of Mice and Men - So what I'd really like is to try and conceal him somewhere safe, then go hunt, and come back and collect him. But I have a feeling his ego isn't going to go for that suggestion.Suzanne Collins -- The Hunger Games
- We honed our egos on her, padded our characters with her frailty, and yawned in the fantasy of our strength.Toni Morrison -- The Bluest Eye
- Joan chattered on about Egos and Ids, and I turned my mind to something else, to the brown, unwrapped package in my bottom drawer.Sylvia Plath -- The Bell Jar
- Which means the switchboard gets jammed with fans calling in, and we have to find dressing room space for seven enormous egos.Sophie Kinsella -- Confessoins of a Shopaholic
- Egos lose their sharp edges.Thomas Pynchon -- The Crying of Lot 49
- They all assumed we thought we were better than they were, that we had out-sized egos and shot off our mouths without being able to back it up.Chris Kyle -- American Sniper
ego = sense of self-esteem
ego = sense of self-esteem
ego = self-esteem (sense of importance)
ego = sense of self-esteem (sense of importance or ability)
Less commonly:
There is also a specialized definition of ego in psychoanalysis which refers to the conscious mind.