Word
schizophrenia
Phoneticsschizophre·nia
US/ˌskɪtsəˈfɹiniə/
UK/skˌɪtsəfɹˈiːniə/
Definitions
01mental health condition
n. a serious mental illness where a person may see or hear things that are not there or have trouble thinking clearly.
n. a psychiatric diagnosis involving persistent delusions, hallucinations, and impaired cognitive functioning.
“The doctor explained that schizophrenia requires long-term medical treatment and support.”
“Recent clinical research suggests that early intervention in cases of schizophrenia can significantly improve long-term social and occupational outcomes for patients.”
Technical
Usage
Usually uncountable when referring to the medical condition in general.
02contradictory state
n. a situation where two very different or opposite ideas or qualities exist at the same time.
n. a state characterized by the coexistence of disparate or mutually exclusive elements; a lack of internal consistency.
“The city has a kind of schizophrenia, with modern glass towers right next to ancient ruins.”
“The government's policy suffered from a certain schizophrenia, attempting to lower taxes while simultaneously promising a massive increase in public spending.”
Informal · Literary
Teaching tip
This figurative use is common in journalism but can be seen as insensitive by those in the medical community.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“Specialized brain scans reveal that schizophrenia is linked to widespread loss of the synapses that connect brain cells, with the left side of the brain hit especially hard.” “The man, who was 23 at the time, was repeatedly described by the court as being vulnerable, and was diagnosed with schizophrenia.” “Schizophrenia is among the top 10 leading causes of disability, according to the World Health Organization.” “The results could help guide future investigations into neurological and psychiatric conditions in which this information exchange may function differently, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia.” Etymology
From German Schizophrenie (coined by Eugen Bleuler), from Ancient Greek σχίζω (skhízō, “to split”) + φρήν (phrḗn, “mind, heart, diaphragm”) + English -ia. A combination of schizo- + -phrenia.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/schizophrenia