dyslexia

noun

dys·​lex·​ia dis-ˈlek-sē-ə 

: a variable often familial learning disability involving difficulties in acquiring and processing language that is typically manifested by a lack of proficiency in reading, spelling, and writing

dyslexic

dis-ˈlek-sik 

adjective or noun

Examples of dyslexia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The film follows a group of New York City mothers who band together to try and form a school dedicated to helping kids specifically struggling with dyslexia. —Brian Welk, IndieWire, 10 Dec. 2024

Between 15-22% of the US population is neurodiverse, with around 10% diagnosed with dyslexia, 5% with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 1-2% with autism. —New Atlas, 6 Dec. 2024

Brain connection between dyslexia and rhythm The researchers in this new study compared these two genetic correlations and found genetic patterns that were shared between people with dyslexia and people with a bad sense of rhythm. —Eva Amsen, Forbes, 29 Nov. 2024

Her severe dyslexia sometimes trips her up while speaking or perusing her notes, but those moments of frustration don’t temper her gregarious personality. —Angela Yang, NBC News, 5 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier, "impairment in the ability to read due to a brain injury," borrowed from French & German; French dyslexie, borrowed from German Dyslexie, from dys- dys- + -lexie (in Alexie alexia)

Note: German Dyslexie was introduced by the ophthalmologist Rudolf Berlin (1833-97), apparently first in print in Medicinisches Correspondenzblatt des Württembergischen Ärztlichen Landesvereins, vol. 53 (1883), p. 209. Berlin gave an oral presentation on dyslexia at a professional meeting in June, 1883 ("VIII. Wandersammlung der Südwestdeutschen Neurologen und Irrenärtze in Baden", published in Archiv für Psychiatrie und Nervenkrankheiten, Band 15 [1884], pp. 276-78) in which he explained the coinage as follows: "Die mehr oder weniger deutlich ausgesprochene Plötzlichkeit, mit welcher die Krankheit auftritt und die begleitenden, resp. im Verlaufe sich entwickelnden cerebrale Symptome machen es höchst wahrscheinlich dass die pathologisch-anatomische Ursache der Lesestörung ebenfalls eine cerebrale ist. Redner bezeichnete die letzere deshalb, um diese Auffassung zu markiren, nach Analogie des gebräuchlichen Ausdruckes Alexie als 'Dyslexie.' Dabei macht er auf die etymologischen Bedenken aufmerksam, welche diese Bezeichnung entgegenstehen, die Aufstellung eines physiologisch weniger anfechtbaren Ausdruckes anheimgebend." ("The more or less clearly pronounced suddenness with which the disorder appears, and the cerebral symptoms that accompany it or develop in its course, make it highly probable that the pathological and anatomical cause of the disturbance in reading is likewise a cerebral one. To make this conception clear, the speaker [i.e., Berlin] therefore designates the disturbance, by analogy with the customary expression alexia, as 'dyslexia.' At the same time while he draws attention to the etymological reservations that might oppose this designation, he yields to the establishment of an expression less contestable physiologically.")

First Known Use

circa 1888, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

dyslexia

noun

dys·​lex·​ia dis-ˈlek-sē-ə 

: a learning disability that is usually marked by problems in reading, spelling, and writing

Medical Definition

dyslexia

noun

dys·​lex·​ia dis-ˈlek-sē-ə 

: a variable often familial learning disability that involves difficulties in acquiring and processing language and that is typically manifested by a lack of proficiency in reading, spelling, and writing