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; < Neo-Latin; see syn-, esthesia

syn·es·thete [sin-uhs-theet] , noun
syn·es·thet·ic [sin-uhs-thet-ik] , adjective
non·syn·es·thet·ic, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To synesthesia
00:10
Synesthesia is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
Collins
World English Dictionary
synaesthesia or synesthesia (ˌsɪniːsˈθiːzɪə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  physiol a sensation experienced in a part of the body other than the part stimulated
2.  psychol the subjective sensation of a sense other than the one being stimulated. For example, a sound may evoke sensations of colour
 
[from New Latin, from syn- + -esthesia, from Greek aisthēsis sensation]
 
synesthesia or synesthesia
 
n
 
[from New Latin, from syn- + -esthesia, from Greek aisthēsis sensation]
 
synaesthetic or synesthesia
 
adj
 
synesthetic or synesthesia
 
adj

synesthesia (ˌsɪniːsˈθiːzɪə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
the usual US spelling of synaesthesia
 
synesthetic
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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American Heritage
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 Britannica
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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Example sentences
People with a bizarre condition called synesthesia see sound, smell colors, and
  taste shapes.
It has also provided suggestive insights into the physiological cause of such
  mystifying syndromes as synesthesia and autism.
Neuroscientists think people with synesthesia might open a window into the
  ultimate mystery of human consciousness.
Some abusers experience intense synesthesia, an effect that causes the abusers'
  senses to become confused.
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