countersuggestion

noun

coun·​ter·​sug·​ges·​tion ˌkau̇n-tər-səg-ˈjes-chən How to pronounce countersuggestion (audio)
-sə-ˈjes-,
-ˈjesh-
variants or less commonly counter-suggestion
plural countersuggestions also counter-suggestions
1
: an opposing or alternative suggestion
The politicians have also hit on the rather cunning counter-suggestion that the political correspondents who write about them, and the newspaper proprietors whose organs criticize them, should also come clean.Punch
2
a
psychology : a suggestion made (as by a therapist) to an individual with the intention of getting the individual to say or do the opposite of what is suggested
also : a suggestion that challenges a belief in order to evaluate the strength of the belief by the reaction elicited
b
psychology : a method of psychotherapy that uses countersuggestions
c
: a suggestion made (as by a hypnotist) to an individual who is under hypnosis in order to cause a change in the individual's thoughts or behavior

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of countersuggestion was in 1842

Dictionary Entries Near countersuggestion

Cite this Entry

“Countersuggestion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/countersuggestion. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

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