Dictionary.com

Popular Searches

 Thesaurus.com

alalia

American  
[uh-ley-lee-uh, uh-leyl-yuh] / əˈleɪ li ə, əˈleɪl yə /

noun

Pathology.

  1. an inability to speak.

alalia British  
/ æˈleɪlɪə /

noun

  1. a complete inability to speak; mutism

"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

Etymology

Origin of alalia

1875–80; a- 6 + Greek lalia talk, chatter, equivalent to lal ( leîn ) to talk, chatter + -ia -y 3

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.

The complete inability to articulate is called alalia.

From Project Gutenberg

The third frontal convolution and the island of Reil were small on both sides, corresponding to the alalia.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.