Meanings
- uncountablehuman sciencesA condition where one does not possess a functioning "mind's eye" and cannot visualize imagery.First known use 2015
2 more examples
Certain people, researchers have discovered, can't summon up mental images—it's as if their mind's eye is blind. This month in the journal Cortex, the condition received a name: aphantasia, based on the Greek word phantasia, which Aristotle used to describe the power that presents visual imagery to our minds. […] If aphantasia is real, it is possible that injury causes some cases while others begin at birth.
2015 June 22, Carl Zimmer, “Picture this? Some just can’t”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 04 Apr 2024That's when I discovered I had aphantasia, the inability to conjure mental images. Little is known about the condition, but its impact on my education led me to wonder about how it might be impacting others. […] [A]phantasia not only impacts people's learning experiences; it also extends into their personal lives. Not being able to visualize means never picturing the faces of family or close friends and remembering images as abstract information.
2020 July 15, Serena Puang, “Living with aphantasia, the inability to make mental images”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 18 Apr 2024
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-“to be visible, appear; to shine”
- Ancient Greekἀ-
- Englishaphantasia
From a- (prefix meaning ‘opposite of; without’) + phantasia, from Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-, prefix forming words having senses opposite to the stems or words to which the prefix is attached) + φᾰντᾰσῐ́ᾱ (phăntăsĭ́ā, “appearance, look; image; impression, perception”). Φᾰντᾰσῐ́ᾱ (Phăntăsĭ́ā) is derived from φᾰ́ντᾰσῐς (phắntăsĭs) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns); and φᾰ́ντᾰσῐς (phắntăsĭs) from φᾰντᾰ́ζω (phăntắzō, “to make visible, show; to become visible”), from φᾰντός (phăntós, “visible”), from φαίνω (phaínō, “to cause to appear, reveal; to give light, shine”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeh₂- (“to be visible, appear; to shine”). The English word was coined by the British neurologist Adam Zeman (born 1957) and his collaborators Michaela Dewar and the Italian neurologist Sergio Della Sala (born 1955) in a 2015 article published in Cortex.
More words from Ancient Greek, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans afantasie
- afantasiecondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Arabic أفانتازيا
- أفانتازياcondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Catalan afantasia
- afantasiacondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Dutch afantasie
- afantasiecondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Esperanto afantazio
- afantaziocondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Estonian afantaasia
- afantaasiacondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Finnish afantasia
- afantasiacondition where one cannot visualize imagery
French aphantasie
- aphantasiecondition where one cannot visualize imagery
German Aphantasie
- Aphantasiecondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Hebrew אפנטזיה
- אפנטזיהcondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Hungarian afantázia
- afantáziacondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Indonesian afantasia
- afantasiacondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Italian afantasia
- afantasiacondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Japanese アファンタジア
- アファンタジア (afantajia)condition where one cannot visualize imagery
Korean 무상상
- 무상상 (musangsang)condition where one cannot visualize imagery
Malay aphantasia
- aphantasiacondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Persian آفانتازیا
- آفانتازیاcondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Polish afantazja
- afantazjacondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Portuguese afantasia
- afantasiacondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Russian афантазия
- афантазия (afantazija)condition where one cannot visualize imagery
Spanish afantasía
- afantasíacondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Swedish afantasi
- afantasicondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Tamil உளப்படம் அமையாக் குறைபாடு
- உளப்படம் அமையாக் குறைபாடு (uḷappaṭam amaiyāk kuṟaipāṭu)condition where one cannot visualize imagery
Turkish afantaz
- afantazcondition where one cannot visualize imagery
Ukrainian афантазія
- афантазія (afantazija)condition where one cannot visualize imagery
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with aphantasia
Cite this entry
aphantasia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aphantasia
“aphantasia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aphantasia. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “aphantasia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/aphantasia.
Source: aphantasia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.