inhibition

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in·hi·bi·tion / ˌin(h)iˈbishən/ • n. a feeling that makes one self-conscious and unable to act in a relaxed and natural way: the children, at first shy, soon lost their inhibitions | a powerful tranquilizer that causes lack of inhibition. ∎  Psychol. a voluntary or involuntary restraint on the direct expression of an instinct. ∎  the action of inhibiting, restricting, or hindering a process. ∎  the slowing or prevention of a process, reaction, or function by a particular substance.

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