receptive aphasia

9.9

A condition where a person speaks in long sentences that do not make sense and cannot understand speech or writing

noun
/rɪˈsɛptɪv əˈfeɪʒə/

Specialized

: afasia receptiva

Doctors diagnosed her with receptive aphasia when she repeatedly gave fluent but nonsensical answers to questions.

Examples

Although she spoke in long sentences, her receptive aphasia made understanding conversations nearly impossible.
Many patients with receptive aphasia struggle to comprehend simple commands.
After his stroke, John developed receptive aphasia and could no longer understand written instructions.
After the stroke, he was diagnosed with receptive aphasia.
After his stroke, John developed receptive aphasia and could no longer understand spoken or written words.
Doctors diagnosed her with receptive aphasia when she produced fluent speech that made no sense.
Many patients with receptive aphasia often reply to questions with long answers that do not relate to the topic.

Synonyms

sensory aphasia

vsreceptive aphasia

Specialized

1 9.2

Able to speak easily but say words that do not make sense and cannot understand speech or writing

is the same clinical condition described by the key concept

impressive aphasia

vsreceptive aphasia

Specialized

9.9

Fluent speech that has little meaning and very poor understanding of what others say or write

is the same clinical presentation as the key concept

Wernicke's aphasia

vsreceptive aphasia

Specialized

9.5

A condition in which a person speaks smoothly but their words have little meaning and cannot understand speech or writing

describes the identical pattern of speech and comprehension loss

fluent aphasia

vsreceptive aphasia

Specialized

8.6

Talking that sounds normal but uses wrong words and makes understanding language hard

captures the same clinical features as the key concept

Surface Forms

receptive aphasia singular

receptive aphasias plural

Morphology

receptive + aphasia

The compound is compositional: 'receptive' (relating to receiving/understanding) modifies 'aphasia' (loss of language ability), so the phrase indicates the type of aphasia that affects comprehension. Despite being a clinical term, the modifier + noun pattern is transparent and parallels distinctions (receptive vs expressive) in many languages, so a learner who knows both constituents would infer the meaning.

Etymology

Receptive aphasia comes from the idea that receptive means 'to receive' and aphasia means a problem with language, so imagine a radio that can play out words but cannot tune in to others. That's why someone with receptive aphasia may speak in fluent sentences yet cannot 'understand' what people say or read.