prosopagnosia

noun

pros·​op·​ag·​no·​sia ˌprä-sə-pag-ˈnō-zhə 

medical

: a form of visual agnosia characterized by an inability to recognize faces : face blindness

A small fraction of people, however, cannot recognize faces—even the faces of their parents, spouses, and children. Prosopagnosia, as this condition is known, can affect people from birth or be triggered later in life by injuries to the brain.

—Carl Zimmer

Those with prosopagnosia … can see perfectly well, but their brains are unable to piece together the information needed to understand that a collection of features represents an individual's face.

—Karen Barrow

Examples of prosopagnosia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Brilliant Minds stars Quinto as Dr. Oliver Wolf, a talented neurologist who suffers from prosopagnosia, or facial blindness. —Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 22 Sep. 2025

The doctor, who has prosopagnosia, or facial blindness, also starts up a romance with neurosurgeon Dr. Josh Nichols (Teddy Sears) and contends with the death of his father, who struggled with mental illness throughout his life. —Madeleine Janz, People.com, 7 Jan. 2025

The uncertainty and the ubiquity of a stalker’s presence really haunt people, Storey says, and these factors are only heightened for people with prosopagnosia. —Sadie Dingfelder, TIME, 28 Oct. 2024

Like Sacks, Quinto’s protagonist rides motorcycles; loves ferns and swimming in the rivers of New York City; and has prosopagnosia, or face blindness. —Max Gao, NBC News, 23 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Prosopagnosie, from Greek prósōpon "face, mask, person" + German Agnosie agnosia — more at prosopopoeia

First Known Use

1950, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for prosopagnosia

• agnosia

Medical Definition

prosopagnosia

noun

pros·​op·​ag·​no·​sia ˌpräs-əp-ag-ˈnō-zhə 

: a form of visual agnosia characterized by an inability to recognize faces