Meanings
- uncountablehuman sciencesDifficulty using names in communication.
People who feel it most severely might avoid addressing anyone by their name under any circumstance. For others, alexinomia is strongest around those they are closest to.
2025 January 20, Shayla Love, “Please Don’t Make Me Say My Boyfriend’s Name”, in The Atlantic, retrieved 09 Apr 20262 more examples
For such individuals, seemingly routine social interactions become daunting challenges. For instance, when attending a networking event or social gathering, alexinomia may hinder their ability to initiate conversations or maintain rapport.
2024 May 7, Mark Travers, “A Psychologist Explains ‘Alexinomia’— The Fear Of Saying Others’ Names”, in Forbes, retrieved 09 Apr 2026The importance of intimacy and closeness in relationships affected by alexinomia adds to a growing body of evidence suggesting that social anxiety is at least partly rooted in attachment insecurities. This emphasizes the significance of early childhood relationship experiences as a potential causal factor of social anxiety.
2025, Thomas Ditye, Mara Sartorio, Lisa Welleschik, “Name avoidance in social anxiety: Understanding alexinomia”, in Journal of Anxiety Disorders, volume 109
Origin
Translations
Hebrew אלקסינומיה
- אלקסינומיה (aleksinómya)Translations
Russian алексиноми́я
- алексиноми́я (aleksinomíja)Translations
Cite this entry
alexinomia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alexinomia
“alexinomia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alexinomia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alexinomia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alexinomia.
Source: alexinomia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.