Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

edifice complex

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.92 in modern English

Syllables: ed-i-fice -com-plex
IPA

33

Scrabble Score

14

Letters

5

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The desire to construct or own spectacularly imposing buildings.

Derogatory; Humorous

Example Sentences

"There may be fewer dictators these days, he says, but instead local authorities run by city politicians “want to follow in the footsteps of mad King Ludwig of Bavaria and indulge their edifice complexes”."
"The McKees' Munster Mansion continues a long tradition of Texans with edifice complexes."
"When John Juliani described theatre in Canada as suffering from an edifice complex, he had in mind regional theatre companies that occupied buildings like the SLC."

Etymology

From the psychoanalytical sense of complex, and a pun on Oedipus complex.

Usage

Inflected Forms

edifice complexes (plural)

Questions

What does edifice complex mean?: The desire to construct or own spectacularly imposing buildings.
Where does edifice complex come from?: From the psychoanalytical sense of complex, and a pun on Oedipus complex.

How to pronounce edifice complex

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