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libido

libido

noun lee-bee-DOH Rare

Origin: Latin libido (desire, lust)

Also means

sex drive

Usage Note

Libido entered French through Freudian psychoanalysis and retains both the technical Freudian sense (psychic energy in general) and the popular sense of sexual desire. It is always feminine in French. The related adjective libidineux / libidineuse ('lascivious') exists but is formal and literary; in everyday speech French people say avoir envie or use more direct expressions.

Examples

"Le stress peut réduire la libido."

Natural Translation

Stress can reduce libido.

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