neurasthenia

[ noor-uhs-thee-nee-uh, nyoor- ]
See synonyms for neurasthenia on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. Psychiatry. (not in technical use) nervous debility and exhaustion occurring in the absence of objective causes or lesions; nervous exhaustion.

Origin of neurasthenia

1
First recorded in 1855–60; neur- + asthenia

Words Nearby neurasthenia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use neurasthenia in a sentence

  • They often appear in digestive disturbances, in neurasthenia, and when the oxidizing power of the system is diminished.

    A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
  • Physical, intellectual, or emotional strain can cause neurasthenia suddenly or gradually.

  • The walking may simulate paralytic forms if hysteria is mixed with the neurasthenia.

  • Nagging never cured anything except a tendency toward virtue, and it always deepens neurasthenia.

  • There is always a causative shock or injury, which is followed at once or after an interval by the symptoms of neurasthenia.

British Dictionary definitions for neurasthenia

neurasthenia

/ (ˌnjʊərəsˈθiːnɪə) /


noun
  1. an obsolete technical term for a neurosis characterized by extreme lassitude and inability to cope with any but the most trivial tasks

Derived forms of neurasthenia

  • neurasthenic (ˌnjʊərəsˈθɛnɪk), adjective
  • neurasthenically, adverb

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