mental gymnastics

noun

Difficult and complex logical thought processes, especially when performed effortlessly.

“People often perform mental gymnastics in order to blame anyone but themselves.”

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Meanings

nounmental gymnastics pl (plural only)
  1. pluralplural onlyDifficult and complex logical thought processes, especially when performed effortlessly.

    To cope with these mental gymnastics we apply various ways of simplifying and reducing the information.

  2. derogatorypluralplural onlyInventive, complex arguments used to justify what is otherwise unjustifiable.

    People often perform mental gymnastics in order to blame anyone but themselves.

    1 more example

    But the end of science is to know reality. It is not mental gymnastics or a logical pastime.

    1949, Ludwig von Mises, Human Action, Mises Institute, page 65

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
mental acrobatics

Translations

Swedish hjärngymnastik
  • hjärngymnastikdifficult and complex logical thought processes
Cite this entry
APA

mental gymnastics. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mental%20gymnastics

MLA

“mental gymnastics.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mental%20gymnastics. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mental gymnastics,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mental%20gymnastics.

Source: mental gymnastics on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.