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Glite Dictionary
alexia

alexia

1 9.9
A condition in which a person loses the ability to read, often after brain damage
  • noun
  • /əˈlɛkʃə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : alexia
  • Alexia is a disease...

Examples

  • I had alexia as a child.

    Marathon Man (1976)

  • "Alexia," she said, holding out her hand.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Great point, Alexia.

    Blog text (33)

  • Alexia.

    Underworld: Blood Wars (2016)

  • This one is none other than Alexia Kelley, who recently assumed the presidency of FADICA, Foundations and Donors Interested in Catholic Activities.

    Blog text (24)

  • For example, alexia and agraphia (difficulty reading and writing numbers) are almost always associated with lesions to the left hemisphere, which also frequently involve neurological systems associated with aphasia (word retrieval difficulties) and reading disorders.

    Academic text (2005)

  • After her stroke, she was diagnosed with alexia, making it difficult for her to read even simple texts.

  • The book discussed alexia, a condition where brain damage affects a person's reading abilities.

  • Students with alexia often require special teaching methods to help them regain their reading skills.

Synonyms

word blindness
vsalexia
  • Specialized
9.8

Cannot read written words because of damage to the brain

is the clinical term for that inability rather than the common phrase
visual aphasia
vsalexia
  • Specialized
9.0

A problem that makes a person unable to understand written words despite normal eyesight

is a brain-related loss of reading ability often regardless of visual status

Surface Forms

alexia singular
alexias plural

Morphology

alexia = lexis (opaque) = a + lexia

Built from Greek combining elements (a- + -lexia) that are not productive English morphemes for B1 learners, so the meaning 'loss of reading ability' cannot be reliably inferred.

Etymology

Alexia comes from the Greek parts a- 'not' and lexis 'word', so it literally means 'no words' and is related to the 'lexi-' in lexicon. So alexia is the name for the condition when a person loses the ability to read, often after brain damage.