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

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 Pathology of Lying, accusation, and swindling: a study in forensic psychology by Healy, William

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 Psychology A Study Of Mental Life by Woodworth, Robert S.

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

From Redemption and two other plays by Tolstoy, Leo, graf

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 Essay on the Creative Imagination by Baron, Albert Heyem Nachmen

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 Fruits of Culture by Maude, Aylmer