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Showing results for catalepsy. Search instead for catalepsis.
Synonyms

catalepsy

American  
[kat-l-ep-see] / ˈkæt lˌɛp si /
Or catalepsis

noun

Pathology, Psychiatry.

  1. a physical condition usually associated with catatonic schizophrenia, characterized by suspension of sensation, muscular rigidity, fixity of posture, and often by loss of contact with environment.

catalepsy British  
/ ˈkætəˌlɛpsɪ /

noun

  1. a state of prolonged rigid posture, occurring for example in schizophrenia or in hypnotic trances

"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

Other Word Forms

  • cataleptic adjective
  • cataleptically adverb

Etymology

Origin of catalepsy

1350–1400; < Medieval Latin catalēpsia, variant of Late Latin catalēpsis < Greek katálēpsis seizure (akin to katalambánein to hold down), equivalent to kata- cata- + lêpsis a grasping ( lēp-, variant stem of lambánein to grasp + -sis -sis ); replacing Middle English cathalempsia < Medieval Latin

Compare meaning

How does catalepsy compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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.

We think now he probably suffered from catalepsy, a nervous condition that causes muscular rigidity.

From The Guardian • Oct. 17, 2010

Eleanor Roosevelt's frilly white collar turned to sponge; her smile froze into catalepsy.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Sometimes our people get happy and skip around a bit," she said, "but . . . we don't have any catalepsy or epilepsy."

From Time Magazine Archive

Whelan scrapped the result, not for lack of merit, but because he decided it could only evoke ten show-stopping minutes of caterwauling and catalepsy.

From Time Magazine Archive

In catalepsy and dread trance," says Lucy Snowe, "I studiously held the quick of my nature….

From Charlotte Bront? A Monograph by Reid, T. Wemyss

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.