dysgraphia

American  

[dis-graf-ee-uh] / dɪsˈgræf i ə /

noun

1. a learning disability or neurological condition involving difficulty with writing, especially by hand and at a level appropriate for one's age, and sometimes also with putting one's thoughts into written words.

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dysgraphia British  

/ dɪsˈɡræfɪə /

noun

1. inability to write correctly, caused by disease of part of the brain

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Etymology

Origin of dysgraphia

First recorded in 1930–35; dys- + -graph + -ia

Explanation

Dysgraphia is a writing impairment. People with dysgraphia have trouble writing coherently. Bad news nearly always follows when dys- begins a word, and so it does here: dysgraphia is an inability to write coherently, either as a learning disorder or a result of brain damage or disease. The Greek roots mean "difficult writing." If you have dysgraphia, you might be able to write a little, but what you write won’t make much sense. Oddly, someone with dysgraphia may speak fine, since speaking and writing are controlled by different parts of the brain.

Example Sentences

Dyslexia is also not writing your E's and K's backwards – that's dysgraphia – and there's actually no evidence that dyslexics flip or reverse letters.

From Salon • Apr. 9, 2023

The Bay Area sixth-grader has dyslexia, severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dysgraphia, a neurological disorder that can make writing difficult.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 31, 2022

Miss Field figures out that Ari has something called dysgraphia and encourages her to write poetry on an IBM Selectric — typing helps Ari’s hands keep up with her brain.

From New York Times • Nov. 24, 2021

In Washington, nearly 48,000 children in 2018 were identified as having a “specific learning disability,” which includes dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 7, 2019

I have a very smart 8-year-old who was recently diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia.

From Slate • May 24, 2019