catatonia

[kat-uh-toh-nee-uh, -tohn-yuh]

noun

Psychiatry.

1. a syndrome seen most frequently in schizophrenia, characterized by muscular rigidity and mental stupor, sometimes alternating with great excitement and confusion.

catatonia

/ ˌkætəˈtəʊnɪə, ˌkætəˈtɒnɪk /

noun

1. a state of muscular rigidity and stupor, sometimes found in schizophrenia

Other Word Forms

• catatonic adjective
• catatoniac noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of catatonia¹

First recorded in 1915–20; cata- + -tonia

Word History and Origins

Origin of catatonia¹

C20: New Latin, from German Katatonie, from _cata- + -tonia, from Greek tonos tension

Example Sentences

And in rare cases, steroids can themselves induce psychiatric symptoms including catatonia, insomnia, mania, and suicidal thoughts.

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When she reached it, she’d lock eyes with someone and see the catatonia, as plain as the weight of every leaden step they’d taken since the news that upended their life.

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Seeing that stark difference led Meduna to theorize that glial cells could have something to do with mental health, and that a seizure might help ease schizophrenic symptoms, including catatonia.

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Some people confuse transcranial magnetic stimulation with electroconvulsive therapy, a procedure used for patients with severe depression or catatonia.

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“Although his attorneys claim Cole is mentally ill to the point of catatonia, the fact is that Cole fully cooperated with a mental evaluation in July of this year,” O’Connor said.

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Related Words

• anguish 
• bitterness 
• despair 
• discouragement 
• doldrums 
• foreboding 
• grief 
• horror 
• malaise 
• misery 
• pessimism 
• sadness 
• sorrow 
• weariness 
• woe