[free association] n (1899) 1 a: the expression (as by speaking or writing) of the content of consciousness without censorship as an aid in gaining access to unconscious processes esp. in psychoanalysis b: the reporting of the first thought that comes to mind in response to a given stimulus (as a word)
2: an idea or image elicited by free association
3: a method using free association -- free-as.so.ci.ate vi -- free-as.so.ci.at.ive adj