Dehabituating

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. The practice of diminishing or removing habitual behaviors involves techniques aimed at helping individuals adjust to new routines or actions
2. An approach focused on altering established behavioral patterns helps individuals to adapt by breaking the cycle of habit
3. The process of weakening or ending established habits to encourage new behaviors

Etymology: Dehabituating is built from three parts: the prefix "de-" (meaning removal or reversal), the verb "habituate," and the suffix "-ing" that turns it into a participle or verbal noun. "Habituate" itself came into English in the early 1600s from the Late Latin "habituatus," meaning made into a habit, which in turn comes from the Latin "habitus," the state or condition of having or being. So "habit" in the sense of a settled way of doing things and "habitus" share one root, and the word "habit" for clothing (as in a nun's habit) comes from the same Latin source. The base verb "habituate" dates from the early 17th century, and "dehabituate" followed as a later formation by adding the reversing prefix. The verb "dehabituate" appears in English dictionaries as a rare or technical term, mostly used in psychology and behavioural contexts, and this specific form with the "-ing" ending is simply its inflected participle.

Synonyms: unlearning, breaking habits, disaccustoming, detaching, retraining

Antonyms: habituating, accustoming, conditioning, training, learning