Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Broca's aphasia

Broca's aphasia

1 7.5
A condition in which a person understands others but cannot speak or write well
  • noun
  • /ˈbroʊkəz əˈfeɪziə/
  • Specialized
translation icon : afasia de Broca
  • While her understanding was good, her Broca's aphasia prevented her from speaking fluently.

Examples

  • Therapists use specific exercises to help those with Broca's aphasia improve their communication skills.

  • Patients with Broca's aphasia struggle to form complete sentences.

  • After the stroke, the patient was diagnosed with Broca's aphasia, making it difficult for him to form sentences.

  • Is Broca's aphasia common after a stroke?

  • After his stroke, Mark was diagnosed with Broca's aphasia, making it difficult for him to speak clearly.

  • People with Broca's aphasia often understand language but struggle to construct sentences.

  • Therapy for Broca's aphasia can help individuals improve their speech abilities over time.

Synonyms

aphasia
vsBroca's aphasia
  • Specialized
10 9.1

A condition where a person cannot speak or understand words after brain damage

is the specific subtype mainly marked by expression problems with comprehension preserved
expressive aphasia
vsBroca's aphasia
  • Specialized
1 7.7

A problem where a person has trouble speaking or writing but can still understand others

is the common clinical term for this specific expressive deficit
aphemia
vsBroca's aphasia
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A condition in which a person cannot speak but can still understand language

includes severe trouble with both speech and written expression rather than speech only
nonfluent aphasia
vsBroca's aphasia
  • Specialized
9.9

A condition after a stroke that makes speaking and writing very hard while understanding often stays good

is the named example of that same nonfluent expressive pattern
motor aphasia
vsBroca's aphasia
  • Specialized
8.5

A problem where a person cannot easily say or write words but can understand others

stresses expression loss linked to motor speech processes rather than overall language loss
acataphasia
vsBroca's aphasia
  • Specialized
9.9

A condition in which a person cannot form clear sentences after brain injury

focuses more on failure to organize speech than on plain inability to express

Surface Forms

Broca's aphasia singular
Broca's aphasias plural

Morphology

Broca's + aphasia

Knowing 'aphasia' lets a learner infer this is a kind of language disorder, so the general category is transparent. However, 'Broca's' is an eponym and does not signal the specific clinical profile (severe expressive impairment with relatively preserved comprehension), so the precise meaning is not predictable without specialist or prior exposure.

Etymology

Broca's aphasia is named after the doctor Paul Broca, who studied people with damage to a part of the brain and noticed they could not speak — one famous patient could only say the sound 'tan'. That's why the name refers to a condition where a person can 'understand' language but cannot 'speak'.