apraxia

American  

[uh-prak-see-uh, ey-prak-] / əˈpræk si ə, eɪˈpræk- /

noun

Pathology.

1. a disorder of the nervous system, characterized by an inability to perform purposeful movements, but not accompanied by a loss of sensory function or paralysis.

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apraxia British  

/ əˈpræksɪə /

noun

1. a disorder of the central nervous system caused by brain damage and characterized by impaired ability to carry out purposeful muscular movements

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Other Word Forms

• apractic adjective
• apraxic adjective

Etymology

Origin of apraxia

From New Latin, dating back to 1885–90; a- ⁶, praxis, -ia

Example Sentences

Former Swindon Town and Brentford footballer Chris Kamara, who recently spoke out about his difficulties with the speech disorder apraxia, has been made an MBE for services to football, anti-racism and charity.

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2022

As a little girl growing up in Venice, California, Rousey dealt with apraxia, a motor-speech disorder.

From The Guardian • Aug. 18, 2018

She also has apraxia, which is a motor disorder caused by brain damage.

From Washington Times • Feb. 15, 2015

Enrique has Down syndrome and speech apraxia, which means that he cannot speak, aside from a few grunts and “Ma” in the word “Mama.”

From New York Times • Jul. 25, 2012

Similar to apraxia is "aphasia" or loss of ability to speak.

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