autism

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
8
Words With Friends
10
Letters
6
Pronunciation
/ˈɔːtɪzəm/
See all 4 pronunciations
/ˈɔːtɪzəm/ · /ˈoːtɪzəm/ · /ˈɔtɪzəm/ · /ˈɑtɪzəm/

Definition of autism

5 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. (uncountable, usually)A pervasive neurological condition that is observable in early childhood and persists throughout the lifespan, characterised by atypical communication patterns (e.g., differences in body language or eye contact), delayed language development, and sensory processing sensitivities.
    “Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.”
See all 5 definitions

noun

  1. (uncountable, usually)A pervasive neurological condition that is observable in early childhood and persists throughout the lifespan, characterised by atypical communication patterns (e.g., differences in body language or eye contact), delayed language development, and sensory processing sensitivities.
    “Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.”
  2. (broadly, uncountable, usually)A pervasive neurological condition that is observable in early childhood and persists throughout the lifespan, characterised by atypical communication patterns (e.g., differences in body language or eye contact), delayed language development, and sensory processing sensitivities.
  3. (obsolete, uncountable, usually)A diagnosis involving a pathological tendency to engage in self-centered fantasy thinking, historically considered a symptom of insanity or schizophrenia.
  4. (Internet, offensive, uncountable, usually)Abnormal and unhealthy focus or persistence, stereotypically coupled with low self-awareness and unhealthy hatred of opposition or criticism.
    “weaponized autism”
  5. (Internet, alt-of, deliberate, humorous, misspelling, uncountable, usually)Deliberate misspelling of autumn.
    “it's finally autism”

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

Borrowed from German Autismus, coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, first usage dated to 1907 attributed by Carl Jung as an alternative of his for "auto-erotism", although Bleuler himself differentiates the terms in his book Dementia Praecox, first published 1911. From Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”) + -ισμός (-ismós, “-ism”).

Anagrams of autism

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Hooks

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