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Glite Dictionary
somatic delusion

somatic delusion

9.9
A strong false belief that parts of your body are sick or changed even when doctors say they are not
  • noun
  • /səˈmætɪk dɪˈluːʒən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : delirio somático
  • The patient strongly believed she had parasites under her skin, a typical somatic delusion.

Examples

  • Psychiatrists identified his conviction that his arm was rotting as a somatic delusion.

  • Treatment for somatic delusion often requires a combination of medication and therapy.

  • He has a somatic delusion.

  • Don't dismiss her somatic delusion!

  • The doctor explained that her belief about having a severe illness was actually a somatic delusion.

  • He was convinced that his heart was malfunctioning, which turned out to be a somatic delusion.

  • Many patients with somatic delusion persist in claiming physical ailments despite medical evidence to the contrary.

Synonyms

delusion
vssomatic delusion
199 6.7

A strong false belief that someone still has even when it is not true

focuses specifically on mistaken beliefs about the body or its parts

How Certain

somatic delusion
  • Specialized
9.9
hypochondriac
19 7.5
hypochondria
5 8.8
somatesthesia
  • Specialized
9.9

Surface Forms

somatic delusion singular
somatic delusions plural

Morphology

somatic + delusion

The meaning 'a false belief about the body' is directly and compositionally derivable from 'somatic' (connected to the body) + 'delusion' (a belief not based on reality). Although the phrase is somewhat clinical in register, the adjective+noun combination follows regular semantic composition, so a learner who knows both constituents would infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Somatic delusion joins somatic (a word that points to the 'body') and delusion (a 'fixed false belief'), giving the image of someone who is sure their body is sick or changed even when the facts say it is not, so it means 'a false fixed belief about the body'.