ataxia

[ uh-tak-see-uh ]
See synonyms for ataxia on Thesaurus.com
nounPathology.
  1. loss of coordination of the muscles, especially of the extremities.: Compare tabes dorsalis.

Origin of ataxia

1
First recorded in 1605–15; from New Latin, from Greek: “indiscipline,” from a- a-6 + táx(is) -taxis + -ia -ia
  • Also a·tax·y [uh-tak-see, a-tak-]. /əˈtæk si, æˈtæk-/.

Other words from ataxia

  • a·tax·ic, adjective
  • pre·a·tax·ic, adjective

Words Nearby ataxia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ataxia in a sentence

  • At times locomotor ataxia begins with very severe pain seizures, known as crises.

  • Hence it is that paresis and locomotor ataxia are comparatively quite common among actors, brokers, and financiers.

  • A physician wrote me, taking me to task for listing among the cures reported in my tabulation a case of locomotor ataxia.

  • Locomotor ataxia was the least she might expect from her description of her feelings.

    Psychotherapy | James J. Walsh
  • May his unsightly face, and more hideous body dislocate itself in a deceitful ataxia (for they're still at these old tricks)!

    Barks and Purrs | Colette Willy, aka Colette

British Dictionary definitions for ataxia

ataxia

ataxy (əˈtæksɪ)

/ (əˈtæksɪə) /


noun
  1. pathol lack of muscular coordination

Origin of ataxia

1
C17: via New Latin from Greek: lack of coordination, from a- 1 + -taxia, from tassein to put in order

Derived forms of ataxia

  • ataxic or atactic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for ataxia

ataxia

[ ə-tăksē-ə ]


  1. Loss of muscular coordination as a result of damage to the central nervous system.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.