Definition of "disinhibition" [disinhibition]

• Loss of inhibition, as through the influence of external stimuli such as drugs or alcohol, or as a result of brain damage. (noun)
• Unrestrained behavior resulting from a lessening or loss of inhibitions or a disregard of cultural constraints. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Psychologists call it disinhibition, and its pervasive effect—as can be witnessed every day in nasty comments appended to newspaper articles online, in the aggrieved tone and intent of some blog postings, in e-mail inboxes scorched by flame wars—has turned many parts of the Internet into a nasty place."
• "Eating-related disinhibition, which is the tendency to overeat in response to certain situations or cues such as a big display of dessert, is being used as one explanation in the differences between men and women."
• "One explanation for the differences between men and women may be found in a personality trait known as eating-related disinhibition, which is the tendency to overeat in response to certain situations or cues such as a big display of dessert, said UAB researcher Rosalyn Weller, Ph. D., the study's principle investigator."