Meanings
noundaddy issues pl (plural only)
- informalpluralplural onlyA complex, especially in a girl or woman, originating from an unhealthy relationship with one's father, causing one to behave erratically in romantic relationships.
Near-synonym: father complex
2 more examples
I might have to break up with Nora: she has serious daddy issues that she needs to sort out before dating anyone again.
I used to like to note that every girl I had ever loved had significant Daddy issues as a way of highlighting the crisis of black fatherhood.
2008 August 20, Ta-Nehisi Coates, “Women who date the “wrong” men”, in The Atlantic
Translations
Finnish isäkompleksi
- isäkompleksifather complex
German Vaterkomplex
- Vaterkomplexfather complex
Polish kompleks tatusia
- kompleks tatusiafather complex
Portuguese daddy issues
- daddy issuesfather complex
Spanish complejos paternos, problemas paternales
- complejos paternosfather complex
- problemas paternalesfather complex
- problemas con papáfather complex
Cite this entry
APA
daddy issues. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/daddy%20issues
MLA
“daddy issues.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/daddy%20issues. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “daddy issues,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/daddy%20issues.
Source: daddy issues on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.