Meanings
- uncountableA rare, mysterious phenomenon when someone with a severe neurological or psychiatric condition (like dementia) experiences a sudden, temporary return of mental clarity, memory, and personality just before death, allowing for clear communication and recognition; appearing one's old self for a brief period before passing away.
Terminal lucidity was reported by 60% of the participants in Santos et al.’s (2017) study and by 73% of the participants in Claxton-Oldfield and Richard’s (2022) study.
2026 June 29, Stephen Claxton-Oldfield, Sara MacEachern, “Undergraduate Students’ Awareness of and Beliefs About Unusual End-of-Life Phenomena”, in Omega, volume 93, number 2, →DOI, →ISSN, page 1224Synonyms: terminal rally, rallying, rally, pre-mortem surge, energy surge, surge, end-of-life experience
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA rare, mysterious phenomenon when someone with a severe neurological or psychiatric condition (like dementia) experiences a sudden, temporary return of mental clarity, memory, and personality just before death, allowing for clear communication and recognition; appearing one's old self for a brief period before passing away.
Origin
Cite this entry
terminal lucidity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminal%20lucidity
“terminal lucidity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminal%20lucidity. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “terminal lucidity,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/terminal%20lucidity.
Source: terminal lucidity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.