cognitive dissonance

noun

: psychological conflict resulting from incongruous beliefs and attitudes held simultaneously

Examples of cognitive dissonance in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Art is subjective, but the outcome of awards aren’t, and the cognitive dissonance of those two elements can lead to a lot of backlash. Callum Booth, Forbes, 3 Mar. 2025 Hancock creates a cognitive dissonance by juxtaposing the romanticized past and the cutting-edge technology of the present, placing the audience into a discordant environment. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 22 Jan. 2025 Of course, cognitive dissonance makes the world go ‘round, and preaching the virtues of responsible gambling while serving as a sort of virtual, non-thumb-breaking bookie is fairly innocuous compared to [gestures at everything]. Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 31 Jan. 2025 More to the point, that cognitive dissonance appears to be the ultimate pursuit of Benna’s film, which fondly eulogizes Ricciardi’s life in the interest of making a feature-length PSA out of his death. David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 24 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cognitive dissonance

Word History

First Known Use

1957, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cognitive dissonance was in 1957

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Cite this Entry

“Cognitive dissonance.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cognitive%20dissonance. Accessed 11 Mar. 2025.

Medical Definition

cognitive dissonance

noun
: psychological conflict resulting from simultaneously held incongruous beliefs and attitudes (as a fondness for smoking and a belief that it is harmful)

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