dementia

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noun de·men·tia \di-ˈmen(t)-shə, -shē-ə\

medical : a mental illness that causes someone to be unable to think clearly or to understand what is real and what is not real

Full Definition of DEMENTIA

1

:  a usually progressive condition (as Alzheimer's disease) marked by deteriorated cognitive functioning often with emotional apathy

2

:  madness, insanity <a fanaticism bordering on dementia>

— de·men·tial \-shəl\ adjective

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Examples of DEMENTIA

1. This patient suffers from dementia.
2. a new study on age-related dementias

Origin of DEMENTIA

Latin, from dement-, demens mad, from de- + ment-, mens mind — more at mind

First Known Use: 1806

Related to DEMENTIA

Synonyms

aberration, insanity, derangement, lunacy, madness, mania, rage [archaic]

Antonyms

mind, saneness, sanity

Related Words

neurosis, psychosis; instability, irrationality, unreasonableness; delirium, frenzy, hysteria; hallucinosis, hypomania, paranoia, schizophrenia; senile dementia; delusion, hallucination; monomania, obsession, phobia; abnormality, dementedness, unsoundness

Near Antonyms

lucidity, rationality, rationalness, reasonability, reasonableness; normality, soundness

Other Psychology Terms

fetish, hypochondria, intelligence, mania, narcissism, neurosis, pathological, psychosis, schadenfreude, subliminal

dementia

noun de·men·tia \di-ˈmen-chə\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of DEMENTIA

:  a usually progressive condition (as Alzheimer's disease) marked by the development of multiple cognitive deficits (as memory impairment, aphasia, and inability to plan and initiate complex behavior)

—de·men·tial \-chəl\ adjective