wish fulfillment [AS, wiscan, to wish, fullfyllan, to fulfill] , 1. the gratification of a desire. 2. (in psychology) the satisfaction of a desire or the release of emotional tension through such processes as dreams, daydreams, and neurotic symptoms. 3. (in psychoanalysis) one of the primary motivations for dreams in which an unconscious desire or urge, unacceptable to the ego and superego because of sociocultural restrictions or feelings of personal guilt, is given expression.
