1. in psychoanalytic theory, everything that is not part of the ego; the external world as distinguished from the self
Usage: psychology; psychoanalysis

Examples

• The analyst helped the patient distinguish between ego and nonego.
• In Freudian theory, the nonego represents all external reality.
• The child gradually learns to differentiate between self and nonego.
• Object relations theory examines the relationship between ego and nonego.
• The nonego includes all people, objects, and experiences outside the self.