Meanings
- uncountableA deficiency in understanding, processing, or describing emotions.
1 more example
Finally, schizophrenic disorders involve impairments of perceptions, including hallucinations and delusions, symptoms that often impair patients’ social and occupational functioning and can create alexithymia (Maggini and Raballo 2004; van ‛t Wout et al. 2007), an inability to recognize one’s own feelings.
2008, Amy Kroska and Sarah K. Harkness, “Exploring the Role of Diagnosis in the Modified Labeling Theory of Mental Illness” in Social Psychology Quarterly LXXI, № 2 (Wrestling with Social Psychology, June 2008), page 195
Origin
- Ancient Greekἀ-“not”
- Englishalexithymia
From a- + lexi + -thymia. Created by psychiatrists John Case Nemiah and Peter Sifneos from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, “not”) + λέξις (léxis, “speaking”) + θυμός (thumós, “heart”), meaning “without words for emotions”.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic أَلِكْسِيثَيْمِيَا, لَامُفْرَدَاتِيّة
- أَلِكْسِيثَيْمِيَا (ʔaliksīṯaymiyā)deficiency in understanding emotions
- لَامُفْرَدَاتِيّة (lāmufradātiyya)deficiency in understanding emotions
Chinese 述情障礙 /述情障碍
- 述情障礙 /述情障碍 (shùqíngzhàng'ài)deficiency in understanding emotions
Dutch alexithymie
- alexithymiedeficiency in understanding emotions
Finnish aleksitymia
- aleksitymiadeficiency in understanding emotions
French alexithymie
- alexithymiedeficiency in understanding emotions
German Alexithymie, Gefühlsblindheit
- Alexithymiedeficiency in understanding emotions
- Gefühlsblindheitdeficiency in understanding emotions
- Gefühlslegastheniedeficiency in understanding emotions
Greek αλεξιθυμία
- αλεξιθυμία (alexithymía)deficiency in understanding emotions
Italian alessitimia
- alessitimiadeficiency in understanding emotions
Japanese アレキシサイミア
- アレキシサイミアdeficiency in understanding emotions
Norwegian aleksitymi
- aleksitymideficiency in understanding emotions
Polish aleksytymia
- aleksytymiadeficiency in understanding emotions
Portuguese alexitimia
- alexitimiadeficiency in understanding emotions
Russian алекситими́я
- алекситими́я (aleksitimíja)deficiency in understanding emotions
Spanish alexitimia
- alexitimiadeficiency in understanding emotions
Turkish aleksitimi
- aleksitimideficiency in understanding emotions
Cite this entry
alexithymia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alexithymia
“alexithymia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alexithymia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “alexithymia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/alexithymia.
Source: alexithymia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.