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

And then there’s dyslexia, another form of neurodivergence that often results in challenges with reading. —Maya Richard-Craven, Forbes, 8 Jan. 2025

At 47, Robbins received a diagnosis of A.D.H.D. and dyslexia. —Catherine Pearson, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2024

He was diagnosed with dyslexia late, and Mullen suggested that dyslexic children who don't get the proper attention are more likely to get into trouble. —Justine Fisher, People.com, 23 Jan. 2025

His dyslexia and his intuitive decision-making took him further, envisioning and developing the Virgin Rail Group and Virgin Galactic. —Hulan Hagen, Forbes, 26 Dec. 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

Rhymes for dyslexia

• alexia
• cachexia
• anorexia
• hyperpyrexia

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