Meanings
dysnomia1
plural dysnomias
- countableuncountablemedicineAnomic aphasia, a condition affecting the memory that impairs the recall of words or names.
1 more example
2013, Annette Kujawski Taylor, Dysnomia, entry in Annette Kujawski Taylor (editor), Encyclopedia of Human Memory, ABC-CLIO (Greenwood), page 404, Dysnomia is a disorder in which a person has difficulty naming people or objects. Some sources consider it a milder form of anomia, which is a type of aphasia, or disorder of language. Dysnomia seems to be more clearly memory related and specifically related to a retrieval deficit. Presented with an object, most people who suffer from dysnomia can describe the object, talk about how it can be used, and what category of objects it falls into. However, they are unable to come up with the name for it.
Synonyms: amnesic aphasia, amnestic aphasia, nominal aphasia
- countableuncountabledevelopmental psychologyhuman sciencesImpaired or deficient ability to recall words or names.
Dysnomia refers to a large group of children who talk and understand well but have difficulty with word retrieval.[…]Dysnomia is a well-established antecedent to stuttering or stammering.
1989, J. P. Mohr, Manual of Clinical Problems in Neurology, Little, Brown, page 315 - countableAn incident of a person not recalling a word or name.
The delay in speech and language development, especially expressive function with auditory discrimination, dysnomias, word-finding difficulties, etc. implies that these children, especially in school situations, have difficulties in verbalizing experiences, as well as in reading and writing.
1984, H.-J. Bandmann, R. Breit, E. Perwein, editors, Klinefelter's Syndrome, Springer, unnumbered page2 more examples
1977, J. Gordon Millichap (editor), Learning Disabilities and Related Disorders, Year Book Medical Publishers, page 49, Though we have no statistical data to back it up, our impression has been that medication prescribed for a child's behavioral problems, or for seizure control, sometimes have a stabilizing effect on these episodic dysnomias.
2012, Roberta F. White, Frederic E. Rose, The Boston Process Approach, Gerald Goldstein, Theresa M. Incagnoli (editors), Contemporary Approaches to Neuropsychological Assessment, Plenum Press, page 183, For this reason we have developed an ancillary 40-item naming test, the Diamond Naming Test (DNT) (Diamond, Diamond, & White, 1987), using lower frequency names to explore subtle dysnomias in such subjects (items include targets such as andirons).
Dysnomia2
- Greekhuman sciencesThe daemon (minor deity) of lawlessness, listed by Hesiod among the daughters of Eris.
Synonyms: Eris I Dysnomia, Eris I, 136199 Eris I Dysnomia, 136199 Eris I, S, 2005 (2003 UB313) 1, Gabrielle
- astronomyThe only known moon of the dwarf planet Eris.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAnomic aphasia, a condition affecting the memory that impairs the recall of words or names.
proper nounThe daemon (minor deity) of lawlessness, listed by Hesiod among the daughters of Eris.
Origin
- Ancient GreekΔυσνομία
- EnglishDysnomia
From Ancient Greek Δυσνομία (Dusnomía, literally “lawlessness”), from δύσνομος (dúsnomos, “lawless”).
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian Дисно́мия
- Дисно́мия (Disnómija)moon of Eris
Chinese Mandarin 迪絲諾美亞 /迪丝诺美亚
- 迪絲諾美亞 /迪丝诺美亚 (Dísīnuòměiyà)moon of Eris
French Dysnomie
- Dysnomiemoon of Eris
Greek Δυσνομία
- Δυσνομία (Dysnomía)moon of Eris
Japanese ディスノミア
- ディスノミア (Disunomia)moon of Eris
Korean 디스노미아
- 디스노미아 (Diseunomia)moon of Eris
Norwegian Bokmål Dysnomia
- Dysnomiamoon of Eris
Russian Дисно́мия
- Дисно́мия (Disnómija)moon of Eris
Ukrainian Дизно́мія
- Дизно́мія (Dyznómija)moon of Eris
Welsh Dysnomia
- Dysnomiamoon of Eris
Cite this entry
dysnomia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dysnomia
“dysnomia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dysnomia. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “dysnomia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/dysnomia.
Source: dysnomia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.