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amaurosis

amaurosis

1 9.9
Loss of sight without eye disease, often from damage to the nerve from the eye or to the brain
  • noun
  • /əˈmɔːrəˌsɪs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : amaurosis
  • In 2008, a group at University College London (UCL) used gene therapy to successfully improve the sight of a patient with the eye disease Leber's congenital amaurosis.
  • Leber's amaurosis
  • congenital amaurosis
  • amaurosis fugax

Examples

  • The authors attributed the amaurosis to changes in air pressure.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Except with an "amaurosis" everything goes dark... and with him everything was white.

  • So, it appeared to be a kind of, "amaurosis", which is a... ...which is a kind of a...

  • Also, our daughter Finley was diagnosed in 2009 with Leber's Congenital Amaurosis (LCA), a rare genetic eye condition that has made her legally blind.

    Blog text (19)
  • Three of the four children were completely blind (microphthalmos, anophthalmos, and retinopathy of prematurity, stage V) and one had minimal light perception (Leber's amaurosis).

    Academic text (2007)
  • The sudden onset of amaurosis left her unable to see, although her eyes appeared healthy.

  • Doctors explained that the amaurosis was a result of disruptions in the optic nerve rather than an eye disease.

  • After months of testing, they diagnosed him with amaurosis, which meant he could no longer perceive light.

Synonyms

blindness
vsamaurosis
70 3.1

A condition in which a person cannot see because of injury, disease, or being born that way

occurs without detectable eye disease, often from optic nerve or brain problems
anopia
vsamaurosis
  • Specialized
9.9

Loss of sight because an eye is missing or badly damaged

happens without detectable eye disease, not from an obvious structural defect

Antonyms

538 1.0

The ability to see or an impressive thing you see

263 1.0

The ability to see

How Severe

amaurosis
  • Specialized
1 9.9
visual disorder
  • Specialized
5.0

Surface Forms

amaurosis singular
amauroses plural

Morphology

amaurosis = amauro + osis

The root 'amauro-' is a Greek medical combining form (not a standalone English word) and the suffix '-osis' produces a specialized clinical term, so an average B1 learner cannot derive the meaning from the parts.

Etymology

The word amaurosis comes from the Greek amauros, which means 'dim' or 'dark'. That's why amaurosis describes a loss or 'darkening' of vision, like a curtain or shadow hiding what you see.