synesthesia
Americannoun
-
synesthesias
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of synesthesia
First recorded in 1890–95; from New Latin; see origin at syn-, esthesia
Explanation
Synesthesia is a condition that happens when a sense, such as sight, triggers another sense, like smell, at the same time. For someone with synesthesia, each letter of the alphabet might have a different odor. Cool! Synesthesia happens when someone’s senses are blended. The word synesthesia comes from the Greek syn for “together” and the root aisthe for “to feel.” People with synesthesia often don’t realize at first that they have it — they think everyone sees the number 8 as red, for example! The writer Vladimir Nabokov writes about having synesthesia in his memoir Speak, Memory. Synesthesia is another way of perceiving the world, but it’s not a disease.
Vocabulary lists containing synesthesia
The AP English Exam: Rhetorical and Literary Terms 4
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Imagery, Figures of Speech, and Tone
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Literary Devices, List 2
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“And then synesthesia would be … these rare individuals who experience additional sensations that sometimes happen to be across the senses, but most commonly sight,” Spence told Salon in a video interview.
From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2025
“Prometheus” is an extraordinary score, Scriabin’s extravagance going far beyond synesthesia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2024
You’ll notice the way synesthesia guides his pen, and you’ll pick up his themes of exile, wonder, the afterlife and the privacy and primacy of marriage.
From New York Times ● Oct. 15, 2023
However, this pioneering stretchable synesthesia display shatters preconceived boundaries by offering unparalleled optical performance and precise sound pressure levels.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2023
I’ve never met anyone who wanted their synesthesia to go away.”
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
