Word
dyslexia
Phoneticsdys·lexia
US/dɪˈsɫɛksiə/
UK/dɪslˈɛksiə/
Definition
n. a learning difficulty that makes it hard for someone to read, write, or spell. It does not mean the person is not smart; their brain just processes words and letters differently.
n. a neurodevelopmental condition characterised by difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and poor spelling and decoding abilities. Often involves a deficit in the phonological component of language.
Examples
“Students with dyslexia often need extra time during exams.”
“The school provides specialized reading software to help students with dyslexia keep up with their classmates.”
“While dyslexia is primarily associated with reading challenges, many individuals develop exceptional problem-solving skills and creative thinking patterns as compensatory strategies for their linguistic difficulties.”
Examples
simple
“Students with dyslexia often need extra time during exams.”
contextual
“The school provides specialized reading software to help students with dyslexia keep up with their classmates.”
complex
“While dyslexia is primarily associated with reading challenges, many individuals develop exceptional problem-solving skills and creative thinking patterns as compensatory strategies for their linguistic difficulties.”
Usage
Typically used without an article when referring to the condition in general.
Real-World Examples
“The findings also cannot be extended directly to people with dyslexia or other reading difficulties, who were not represented in the sample.” “Not only did the man not have a degree, but he had left school at the age of 13, struggling with dyslexia and – at the time – unable to read or write.” Etymology
Learned borrowing from French dyslexie and/or German Dyslexie, coined by German ophthalmologist Rudolf Berlin in 1887, from dys- + lexis + -ia, from Ancient Greek δυσ- (dus-) + λέξις (léxis, “diction”, “word”), from Ancient Greek λέγω (légō, “to speak”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leg- (“to collect, gather; to speak”). The term was coined with λέξις (léxis) being taken to mean "reading," likely due to semantic conflation of Greek λέγω (légō, “to speak”) and Latin legō (“to read”). By surface analysis, dys + lex(is) + -ia.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/dyslexia