encephalopathy

American  

[en-sef-uh-lop-uh-thee] / ɛnˌsɛf əˈlɒp ə θi /

noun

Psychiatry.

1. any brain disease.

---

encephalopathy British  

/ ɛnˌsɛfəˈlɒpəθɪ /

noun

1. any degenerative disease of the brain, often associated with toxic conditions See also BSE

---

encephalopathy Scientific  

/ ĕn-sĕf′ə-lŏp′ə-thē /

1. Degeneration of brain function, caused by any of various acquired disorders, including metabolic disease, organ failure, inflammation, and chronic infection.

---

Etymology

Origin of encephalopathy

First recorded in 1865–70; encephalo- + -pathy

Example Sentences

Disruptions have been linked to metabolic and neurological conditions such as liver failure and encephalopathy, as well as aging-related disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

But in the mid-1990s, after a yearslong review of the evidence, HHS removed seizure disorder from the injury table and narrowed the type of encephalopathy that would automatically qualify for compensation.

From Salon • Jul. 17, 2025

Repeated head blows can cause something called chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, which gets worse over time and can lead to dementia.

From BBC • Sep. 18, 2024

Mr. Zucker had suffered numerous health problems since being injured in a car crash in 2022, including, near the end of his life, metabolic encephalopathy and three underlying infections.

From New York Times • May 23, 2024

In the 1980s, concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy — or mad cow disease — took hold across Europe, when cases of the incurable and invariably fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle began to appear.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2024