catatonia means A severe psychiatric condition, often associated with schizophrenia, characterized by a tendency to remain in a rigid state of stupor for long periods which give way to short periods of extreme agitation. It carries an Arena rating of 1626, earned across 22 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, catatonia ranks #1,031 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #1,071 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words, #1,360 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #1,865 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words.
catatonia is pronounced /ˌkætəˈtoʊniə/.
Why “catatonia” is a great word
A neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by a profound disruption of motor behavior, manifesting as stupor, mutism, rigidity, and/or periods of agitated purposelessness. From New Latin catatonia, from German Katatonie, from Greek kata- ('down, completely') and tonos ('tension, tone'), hence 'stretched tight' or 'extreme tension'; first attested in English in the 1880s. Unlike stupor, a passive state of insensibility, or cataplexy, a sudden emotional collapse into muscle weakness, catatonia is the entire frozen theater of the mind: the body as a waxen effigy holding an imposed posture for hours, the stark, unblinking stare at a crack on the ceiling, the frantic pacing that traces and retraces the same six steps of floorboard. It is the will, withdrawn from the world and turned inward upon its own machinery until the gears seize.
Etymology
From international scientific vocabulary, from German Katatonie, from New Latin catatonia, from a Greek word meaning to stretch tight. By surface analysis, cata- + tone + -ia.
noun
- A severe psychiatric condition, often associated with schizophrenia, characterized by a tendency to remain in a rigid state of stupor for long periods which give way to short periods of extreme agitation.
- A frozen, unresponsive state, as of electronic equipment.e.g.““Relay that!” Thwaite shouted. Somewhere on the bridge a hand closed over a relay and dropped the AIDs into an electronic catatonia.” — 1998, David Drake, Thomas T. Thomas, Crisis of Empire Book I: An Honorable Defense:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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