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abulia

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

noun

Psychiatry.
  • abulias
    plural
  1. a symptom of mental disorder involving impairment or loss of volition.


abulia British  
/ əˈbuːlɪə, -ˈbjuː- /

noun

  1. psychiatry a pathological inability to take decisions

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

Judging by these mild cases, abulia may be due partly to distaste for the details of actual performance, and partly to a dread of committing oneself to anything that has the stamp of finality.

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

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 Aylmer Maude

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 William Healy

To shun competition and responsibility is characteristic of abulia.

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

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 Robert S. Woodworth

Proof: Identity of development; subjective, personal character of both; teleologic character; analogy between the abortive forms of the imagination and abulias.

From Essay on the Creative Imagination by Albert Heyem Nachmen Baron

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