akathisia

[ ak-uh-thizh-uh, -thiz-ee-uh ]

/ ˌæk əˈθɪʒ ə, -ˈθɪz i ə /

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noun

a state of motor restlessness, sometimes produced by neuroleptic medication, that ranges from a feeling of inner distress to an inability to sit still.

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Origin of akathisia

1900–05; <Czech akathisie <Greek a- a-⁶ + káthis(is) “sitting” (noun derivative of kathízein “to seat, make sit, take one's seat”; kat- cat- + hízein “to seat,” akin to sit¹) + New Latin -ia -ia

Words nearby akathisia

akaryocyte, akaryote, akasha, Akashi, akatea, akathisia, Akbar, A.K.C., ake, akeake, akebi

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

British Dictionary definitions for akathisia

akathisia

/ (ˌækəˈθiːzɪə) /

noun

the inability to sit still because of uncontrollable movement caused by reaction to drugs

Word Origin for akathisia

C20: from a- + -kithisia, ultimately from Greek cathedra seat

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

Medical definitions for akathisia

akathisia

Motor restlessness characterized by muscular quivering and the inability to sit still, often a result of chronic ingestion of neuroleptic drugs.

Intense anxiety at the thought of sitting down; inability to sit down.