psychomachy
- noun
- /ˌsaɪ.kəˈmɑː.ki/
- Archaic
- Medieval literature often depicts the psychomachy as a battle between angels and demons within the human soul.
Examples
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In his novel, the protagonist's psychomachy drives the narrative toward a moral resolution.
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In his latest poem, he describes a personal psychomachy.
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The concept of psychomachy illuminates many religious and philosophical texts discussing inner conflict.
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The psychomachy within him is palpable.
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In his novel, the protagonist's psychomachy drives the narrative toward a moral resolution.
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Medieval literature often depicts the psychomachy as a battle between angels and demons within the human soul.
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The concept of psychomachy illuminates many religious and philosophical texts discussing inner conflict.
Antonyms
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
psychomachy = psycho + machy
This is a learned classical formation built from Greek combining forms meaning roughly 'mind/soul' and 'battle', but the sense of an inner moral struggle is not transparently recoverable for an average B1 learner.
Etymology
Psychomachy comes from the Greek parts psyche 'soul' and machē 'battle', so it literally means a 'battle of the soul'. You can see psyche in psychology, which helps you remember that a psychomachy is an inner fight between good and evil.