frigidity
/fri'dʤiditi/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Noun:
- A lack of affection or enthusiasm; emotional coldness: "Frigidity" refers to a state of being emotionally distant, unfeeling, or lacking in warmth and passion.
- A distressing coldness of tone and manner: It can describe a formal, aloof, or unwelcoming attitude in someone's behavior or communication.
- Sexual unresponsiveness (especially of women) and inability to achieve orgasm during intercourse: In a clinical or psychological context, it denotes a persistent lack of sexual desire or arousal, historically and often specifically associated with women.
Usage Examples
- Emotional Coldness:
- Her emotional frigidity made it difficult for her to form close friendships.
- The manager's frigidity towards new ideas stifled innovation in the department.
- Coldness of Manner:
- He was taken aback by the frigidity of her greeting.
- The letter was written with a tone of utter frigidity.
- Sexual Unresponsiveness:
- The therapist specialized in issues of sexual desire, including frigidity.
- Older medical texts often pathologized female frigidity without considering psychological factors.
Advanced Usage
- Clinical/Historical Context: The term "frigidity" is now considered outdated and potentially pejorative in many medical and psychological circles. Contemporary terms like "female sexual interest/arousal disorder" or "low sexual desire" are preferred for more precise and less stigmatizing description.
- The concept of frigidity has been largely re-evaluated in modern sexology.
Variants and Related Words
- Frigid (adj): Extremely cold in temperature; or, lacking warmth of feeling, unemotional, or sexually unresponsive.
- The frigid air stung their faces.
- She gave him a frigid stare.
- Frigidly (adv): In a frigid manner.
- He answered frigidly.
Synonyms
- Emotional Sense: Coldness, aloofness, detachment, indifference, unresponsiveness.
- Sexual Sense: (Outdated) Sexual unresponsiveness, anorgasmia, inhibited sexual desire.
Notes on Meaning
- The meaning of "frigidity" extends from the literal absence of heat (though this sense is now rare for the noun itself, more common in the adjective "frigid") to metaphorical applications describing emotional and sexual coldness.
- Its use, particularly regarding female sexuality, reflects historical attitudes and diagnostic practices. Modern usage requires sensitivity to this context.
Noun
- a lack of affection or enthusiasm
- a distressing coldness of tone and manner
- the absence of heat
- the coldness made our breath visible
- come in out of the cold
- cold is a vasoconstrictor
- sexual unresponsiveness (especially of women) and inability to achieve orgasm during intercourse