dyslexia

noun

dys·​lex·​ia dis-ˈlek-sē-ə 

: a variable often familial learning disability involving difficulties in acquiring and processing language that is typically manifested by a lack of proficiency in reading, spelling, and writing

dyslexic

dis-ˈlek-sik 

adjective or noun

Examples of dyslexia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Her foundation supports children and families who struggle with dyslexia, a cause close to her heart. —Tom Brady, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024

The charitable organization was founded in honor of their royal wedding day and works to raise awareness around dyslexia and make the online world a safer place for young people. —Janine Henni, Peoplemag, 11 Apr. 2024

Neurodiversity encompasses individual differences in brain function and describes various conditions, including ADHD, Tourette syndrome, autism, dyslexia, and dysgraphia, each contributing unique strengths, perspectives, and challenges. —Dr. Samantha Madhosingh, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2024

All demigods are said to have ADHD and dyslexia as a product of their godly parentage. —Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Jan. 2024

Sean Astin, who would later play Samwise Gamgee in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, starred as the real-life Ruettiger, who beat the odds to find a place on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team despite having dyslexia and lacking the physical prowess of typical players. —Jason Hahn, Peoplemag, 27 Mar. 2024

For more than two years, state lawmakers have called to strengthen dyslexia screening in Michigan public schools and strengthen reading instruction across the state. —Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press, 3 Feb. 2024

Those can include private, out-of-district placements and specialized classrooms for specific needs like dyslexia, for example. —Annie Ma, Fortune, 5 Dec. 2023

That incipient definition characterized a lot of early thinking about dyslexia. —Sarah Carr, Scientific American, 16 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "impairment in the ability to read due to a brain injury," borrowed from French & German; French dyslexie, borrowed from German Dyslexie, from dys- dys- + -lexie (in Alexie alexia)

Note: German Dyslexie was introduced by the ophthalmologist Rudolf Berlin (1833-97), apparently first in print in Medicinisches Correspondenzblatt des Württembergischen Ärztlichen Landesvereins, vol. 53 (1883), p. 209. Berlin gave an oral presentation on dyslexia at a professional meeting in June, 1883 ("VIII. Wandersammlung der Südwestdeutschen Neurologen und Irrenärtze in Baden", published in Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten, Band 15 [1884], pp. 276-78) in which he explained the coinage as follows: "Die mehr oder weniger deutlich ausgesprochene Plötzlichkeit, mit welcher die Krankheit auftritt und die begleitenden, resp. im Verlaufe sich entwickelnden cerebrale Symptome machen es höchst wahrscheinlich dass die pathologisch-anatomische Ursache der Lesestörung ebenfalls eine cerebrale ist. Redner bezeichnete die letzere deshalb, um diese Auffassung zu markiren, nach Analogie des gebräuchlichen Ausdruckes Alexie als 'Dyslexie.' Dabei macht er auf die etymologischen Bedenken aufmerksam, welche diese Bezeichnung entgegenstehen, die Aufstellung eines physiologisch weniger anfechtbaren Ausdruckes anheimgebend." ("The more or less clearly pronounced suddenness with which the disorder appears, and the cerebral symptoms that accompany it or develop in its course, make it highly probable that the pathological and anatomical cause of the disturbance in reading is likewise a cerebral one. To make this conception clear, the speaker [i.e., Berlin] therefore designates the disturbance, by analogy with the customary expression alexia, as 'dyslexia.' At the same time while he draws attention to the etymological reservations that might oppose this designation, he yields to the establishment of an expression less contestable physiologically.")

First Known Use

circa 1888, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

dyslexia

noun

dys·​lex·​ia dis-ˈlek-sē-ə 

: a learning disability that is usually marked by problems in reading, spelling, and writing

Medical Definition

dyslexia

noun

dys·​lex·​ia dis-ˈlek-sē-ə 

: a variable often familial learning disability that involves difficulties in acquiring and processing language and that is typically manifested by a lack of proficiency in reading, spelling, and writing