word deafness

American  

noun

Pathology.

1. inability to comprehend the meanings of words though they are heard, caused by lesions of the auditory center of the brain.

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word deafness British  

noun

1. Also called: auditory aphasia.  loss of ability to understand spoken words, esp as the result of a cerebral lesion

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Other Word Forms

• word-deaf
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of word deafness

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

In other cases, we find, instead of this music deafness, the word deafness mentioned just above.

From Psychology A Study Of Mental Life by Woodworth, Robert S.

The jargon talk that so often accompanies word deafness reminds us of the fact that speech is first of all auditory to the child.

From Psychology A Study Of Mental Life by Woodworth, Robert S.

Word blindness, sometimes used as the equivalent of visual aphasia, is, like word deafness, a misleading term.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 2 "Anjar" to "Apollo" by Various