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The term "[[desire of the analyst]]" is ambiguous, and oscillates between two meanings in [[Lacan]]'s [[Jacques Lacan:Bibliography|work]].

=====Desire ''Attributed'' to the Analyst=====

In [[psychoanalytic treatment]], the [[analyst]] attributes [[desire]] to the [[analyst]] (as well as [[knowledge]]).

Thus the phrase "[[desire of the analyst]]" refers to the [[desire]] that the [[analysand]] attributes to the [[analyst]] rather to the actual [[desire]] in the [[mind]] or [[psyche]] of the [[analyst]].

The task of the [[analyst]] throughout the [[treatment]] is to make it impossible for the [[analysand]] to be sure that he knows what the [[analyst]] wants from him; the [[analyst]] must make sure that his [[desire]] "remains an x" for the [[analysand]].<ref>{{S11}} p. 274</ref>