agnosia

American  

[ag-noh-zhuh, -zhee-uh, -zee-uh] / ægˈnoʊ ʒə, -ʒi ə, -zi ə /

noun

Psychiatry, Psychology, Neurology.

1. partial or total inability to recognize objects by use of the senses.

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agnosia British  

/ æɡˈnəʊzɪə /

noun

1. psychol loss or diminution of the power to recognize familiar objects or people, usually as a result of brain damage

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Other Word Forms

• agnosic adjective

Etymology

Origin of agnosia

1895–1900; < Greek agnōsía ignorance, equivalent to ágnōt ( os ) unknown ( agnostic ) + -ia -y ³

Example Sentences

Sacks put this query to people with autism, migraines, Tourette’s syndrome, agnosia.

From Scientific American • Nov. 7, 2020

He suffers from extreme visual agnosia and is unable to distinguish between things and the representation of things.

From The Guardian • Jul. 26, 2012

He also has severe visual agnosia, which means his brain can't process what is in front of his eyes, so now he can't even see the pictures.

From The Guardian • Mar. 27, 2010

The Lost Faces tells what it is like to go through life with visual agnosia.

From Time Magazine Archive

The doctors finally diagnosed the case as visual agnosia, an extremely rare disorder whose victims cannot recall images to compare with what they currently see.

From Time Magazine Archive