ataxia
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ataxia
First recorded in 1605–15; from New Latin, from Greek: “indiscipline,” from a- a- 6 + táx(is) -taxis + -ia -ia
Explanation
Ataxia is a medical condition that causes people's muscles to move involuntarily. Having trouble balancing can sometimes be a sign of ataxia. If you suffer from ataxia, your muscles have stopped working together normally — you're not able to coordinate your movements the way you want to. Ataxia is a disorder of the nervous system that can be caused by many different conditions, including vitamin deficiency and inherited illnesses. In medical Latin, ataxia is "confusion or disorder," from the Greek taxis, "arrangement or order."
Vocabulary lists containing ataxia
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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.
Kwa explains that the rarity of Friedreich ataxia creates additional challenges for researchers.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
The Food and Drug Administration agrees to review a New Drug Application for Vyglxia, Biohaven’s experimental spinocerebellar ataxia treatment.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026
Frustrated with himself, and with Krantz, McCarthy scribbled on a draft page, “mild horror, creeping bibliophobia, locomotor ataxia, / general lassitude and despondency.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
By analyzing 2,811 people with ataxia, hereditary spastic paraplegia, and dystonia, scientists identified harmful variants in a gene called CD99L2 as the cause of X-linked spastic ataxia.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 13, 2026
Anaesthesia, amaurosis, deafness have been observed; a number of cases of locomotor ataxia are on record, and but lately Hadthagen12 publishes a case which he claims as disseminated sclerosis.
From A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I Volume 1: Pathology and General Diseases by Various
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
