reality principle noun1 •The mental mechanism which guides a person, as he or she matures, in adapting to and coping with the real, external world, by suppressing or deferring the childish gratification-seeking desires of the id.A flaky mom, restless with unrealized dreams. A wise child, stubbornly asserting the reality principle. . . . It is one of feminism's Ur-legends, the stuff of countless contemporary novels and films. — 1999
