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synesthesia

 - 5 dictionary results

syn⋅es⋅the⋅sia

[sin-uhs-thee-zhuh, -zhee-uh, -zee-uh]
–noun
a sensation produced in one modality when a stimulus is applied to another modality, as when the hearing of a certain sound induces the visualization of a certain color.


Origin:
1890–95; < NL; see syn-, esthesia


syn⋅es⋅thete [sin-uhs-theet] , noun
syn⋅es⋅thet⋅ic [sin-uhs-thet-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To synesthesia
syn·es·the·sia also syn·aes·the·sia   (sĭn'ĭs-thē'zhə)   
n.  
  1. A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.

  2. A sensation felt in one part of the body as a result of stimulus applied to another, as in referred pain.

  3. The description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another.

syn'es·thet'ic (-thět'ĭk) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: syn·es·the·sia
Variant: or chiefly British syn·aes·the·sia /"sin-&s-'thE-zh(E-)&/
Function:noun
: a concomitant sensation; especially : a subjective sensation or image of a sense (as of color) other than the one (as of sound) being stimulated —syn·es·thet·ic or chiefly British syn·aes·thet·ic /-'thet-ik/ adjective
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

synesthesia syn·es·the·sia (sĭn'ĭs-thē'zhə)
n.

  1. A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.

  2. A sensation felt in one part of the body as a result of stimulus that is applied to another, as in referred pain.


syn'es·thet'ic (-thět'ĭk) adj.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Encyclopedia

synesthesia

a condition in which one type of sensory stimulation creates perception in another sense. The most common form of synesthesia is called "coloured hearing," where a person experiences a visual sensation when receiving an auditory signal (for example, hearing the musical tone C and seeing the colour red). Although tone-colour relationships are not identical for all people, there are general uniformities: the deeper a musical note, the darker the colour. Similar colour perceptions, called photisms, may accompany sensations of taste, touch, pain, smell, or temperature. Synesthesia has been used as a literary device by poets as diverse as Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Rimbaud, Hart Crane, and Dame Edith Sitwell.

Learn more about synesthesia with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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