paresthesia

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UK/ˌpærɪsˈθiːziəUK-ʒə/

noun

A sensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin, with no obvious cause.

“Paresthesia occurs when a body part 'falls asleep'.”

Similar
paraesthesia
OriginAncient Greek παραίσθησις →
UncommonScrabble 16
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Meanings

nounparesthesia (countable and uncountable, plural paresthesias or paresthesiae)

plural paresthesias · plural paresthesiae · alternative paraesthesia · alternative paræsthesia

  1. countableuncountableA sensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin, with no obvious cause.

    Paresthesia occurs when a body part 'falls asleep'.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounabnormal skin sensations (as tingling or tickling or itching or burning) usually associated with peripheral nerve damage

Similar
paraesthesia
Broader
symptom
Also see
pins and needles

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekπαραίσθησις
  2. Englishparesthesia

From Ancient Greek παραίσθησις (paraísthēsis). By surface analysis, para- + -esthesia.

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian парене, сърбеж
  • парене (parene)sensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
  • сърбеж (sărbež)sensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
Chinese Mandarin 感覺異常 /感觉异常
  • 感覺異常 /感觉异常 (gǎnjué yìcháng)sensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
Czech parestézie
  • parestéziesensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
Finnish parestesia
  • parestesiasensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
French paresthésie
  • paresthésiesensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
German Missempfindung, Empfindungsstörung
  • Missempfindungsensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
  • Empfindungsstörungsensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
  • Sensibilitätsstörungsensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
  • Parästhesiesensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
  • Fehlempfindungsensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
Italian parestesia
  • parestesiasensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
Polish parestezja
  • parestezjasensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
Portuguese parestesia
  • parestesiasensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling of the skin with no obvious cause
Cite this entry
APA

paresthesia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paresthesia

MLA

“paresthesia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paresthesia. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paresthesia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paresthesia.

Source: paresthesia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.