Meanings
plural neurodiversities
- uncountableusuallyThe variety of configurations of the brain, especially with regard to autism.
For me, the significance of the "Autistic Spectrum" lies in its call for and anticipation of a "Politics of Neurodiversity". […] The rise of Neurodiversity takes postmodern fragmentation one step further.
1998, Judy Singer, “What is the Autistic Spectrum?”, in Odd People In: The Birth of a Community amongst People on the ‘Autistic Spectrum’: A Personal Exploration Based on Neurological Diversity (unpublished B.A. (Social Science) dissertation), Sydney, N.S.W.: Faculty of Humanities and Social Science, University of Technology Sydney, archived from the original on 25 Mar 2023, pages 13–142 more examples
Neurodiversity may be every bit as crucial for the human race as biodiversity is for life in general. Who can say what form of wiring will prove best at any given moment? Cybernetics and computer culture, for example, may favor a somewhat autistic cast of mind.
1998 September, Harvey Blume, “Neurodiversity: On the Neurological Underpinnings of Geekdom”, in William Whitworth, editor, The Atlantic, Washington, D.C.: The Atlantic Monthly Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 05 Feb 2023The Neurodiversity movement is progressing towards an acceptance in mainstream business. Neurodiversity inclusion is increasingly likely to be present in EDI [equality, diversity, and inclusion] policies alongside gender, race and LGBTQIA+ in many leading industries (though I note that disability more broadly is lagging behind).
2021 October 14, Nancy Doyle, “Neurodiversity is Not a Pollyanna Concept: Judy Singer Says Get Realistic”, in Forbes, New York, N.Y.: Forbes, Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Nov 2021
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From neuro- (prefix denoting the nervous system) + diversity, coined by the Australian sociologist Judy Singer (born 1951) in her Bachelor of Arts dissertation (1998), and popularized by Harvey Blume in The Atlantic in September 1998: see the quotations.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans neurodiversiteit
- neurodiversiteitvariety of configurations of the brain
Arabic تَنَوُّع عَصَبِيّ
- تَنَوُّع عَصَبِيّ (tanawwuʕ ʕaṣabiyy)variety of configurations of the brain
Basque neuroaniztasun, neurobestelakotasun
- neuroaniztasunvariety of configurations of the brain
- neurobestelakotasunvariety of configurations of the brain
Catalan neurodiversitat
- neurodiversitatvariety of configurations of the brain
Chinese Mandarin 神經多樣性 /神经多样性
- 神經多樣性 /神经多样性 (shénjīng duōyàngxìng)variety of configurations of the brain
Dutch neurodiversiteit
- neurodiversiteitvariety of configurations of the brain
Finnish neurokirjo, neurodiversiteetti
- neurokirjovariety of configurations of the brain
- neurodiversiteettivariety of configurations of the brain
French neurodiversité
- neurodiversitévariety of configurations of the brain
German Neurodiversität
- Neurodiversitätvariety of configurations of the brain
Greek νευροποικιλότητα
- νευροποικιλότητα (nevropoikilótita)variety of configurations of the brain
Hungarian neurodiverzitás
- neurodiverzitásvariety of configurations of the brain
Italian neurodiversità
- neurodiversitàvariety of configurations of the brain
Japanese 神経多様性, ニューロダイバーシティ
- 神経多様性 (shinkei tayō-sei)variety of configurations of the brain
- ニューロダイバーシティ (nyūrodaibāshiti)variety of configurations of the brain
Korean 신경다양성
- 신경다양성 (sin'gyeongdayangseong)variety of configurations of the brain
Latin neurodiversitas
- neurodiversitasvariety of configurations of the brain
Norwegian Bokmål nevrodiversitet, nevromangfold
- nevrodiversitetvariety of configurations of the brain
- nevromangfoldvariety of configurations of the brain
Polish neuroróżnorodność
- neuroróżnorodnośćvariety of configurations of the brain
Portuguese neurodiversidade
- neurodiversidadevariety of configurations of the brain
Russian нейроразнообра́зие
- нейроразнообра́зие (nejroraznoobrázije)variety of configurations of the brain
Spanish neurodiversidad
- neurodiversidadvariety of configurations of the brain
Swedish neurodiversitet
- neurodiversitetvariety of configurations of the brain
Welsh niwroamrywiaeth
- niwroamrywiaethvariety of configurations of the brain
Cite this entry
neurodiversity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neurodiversity
“neurodiversity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neurodiversity. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “neurodiversity,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neurodiversity.
Source: neurodiversity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.