abulia

American  

[uh-byoo-lee-uh, uh-boo-] / əˈbyu li ə, əˈbu- /

noun

Psychiatry.

1. a symptom of mental disorder involving impairment or loss of volition.

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abulia British  

/ əˈbuːlɪə, -ˈbjuː- /

noun

1. psychiatry a pathological inability to take decisions

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Other Word Forms

• abulic adjective

Etymology

Origin of abulia

1840–50; < New Latin, probably not < Greek aboulíā thoughtlessness, but freshly formed from a- ⁶, Greek boulḗ will, -ia

Example Sentences

Some authorities have ascribed abulia to inertia or "low mental tension", some to an overdose of fear and caution, some to the paralyzing effect of suppressed desires still living in the "unconscious".

From Project Gutenberg

When a subject is thrown into a trance, I may expect the hypnotic phenomena known to me: lethargy, abulia, anæsthesia, analgesia, catalepsy, and every kind of 198susceptibility to suggestion.

From Project Gutenberg

In its normal and complete form will culminates in an act; but with wavering characters and sufferers from abulia deliberation never ends, or the resolution remains inert, incapable of realization, of asserting itself in practice.

From Project Gutenberg

So they show a condition of perfect 'abulia,' or inability to will or act.

From Project Gutenberg

We felt much inclined at first to denominate him a case of abulia, but his stubbornness in recalcitrancy led us to change our opinion.

From Project Gutenberg