paramnesia

[par-am-nee-zhuh]

noun

1. Psychiatry.,  a distortion of memory in which fact and fantasy are confused.

2. the inability to recall the correct meaning of a word.

paramnesia

/ ˌpæræmˈniːzɪə /

noun

1. psychiatry a disorder of the memory or the faculty of recognition in which dreams may be confused with reality

Word History and Origins

Origin of paramnesia¹

From New Latin, dating back to 1885–90; par-, amnesia

Example Sentences

The subtle, recurring confusion between illusion and reality that was characteristic of paramnesia fascinated the chaplain, and he knew a number of things about it.

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In another case of Morvan’s, the patient reported reduplicative paramnesia; he firmly believed that his home had been copied by a stranger and that the replica existed 40 miles away.

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Many hypnotherapeutic techniques such as amnesia, hypermnesia, progression, paramnesia, automatic writing, dream induction, regression, production of experimental conflicts and crystal or mirror gazing require a somnambulistic state.

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Memory illusion, or paramnesia, consists in the illusory opinion of having experienced, seen, or heard something, although there has been no such experience, vision, or sound.

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He knew, for example, that it was called paramnesia, and he was interested as well in such corollary optical phenomena as jamais vu, never seen, and presque vu, almost seen.

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Related Words

• confusion 
• deception 
• delusion 
• fantasy 
• hallucination 
• image 
• misconception 
• myth 
• pipe dream 
• semblance