Meaning & use
dysphasic
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparablemedical
Having dysphasia, a language disorder, usually from brain damage, that makes speaking or understanding words difficult.
Grammar: Used before a noun or after be: a dysphasic patient, he is dysphasic.
Patterns
- be dysphasic
- a dysphasic X
After the stroke, he became dysphasic and struggled to find words.
The therapist works with dysphasic children.
Her dysphasic speech was slow but clear in meaning.
nouncountablemedicalrare
A person who has dysphasia.
Grammar: Takes a plural: dysphasics; often replaced with people with dysphasia.
The clinic runs weekly groups for dysphasics.
Therapists teach dysphasics new ways to communicate.
Many dysphasics recover some language over time.
Word forms
| plural | dysphasics |
|---|
Common combinations
- dysphasic patient
- The dysphasic patient used gestures to compensate.
- dysphasic speech
- Dysphasic speech may include wrong or missing words.
- become dysphasic
- He became dysphasic after a head injury.
- dysphasic child
- The dysphasic child received extra support at school.
- mildly dysphasic
- She is only mildly dysphasic and can hold a conversation.
Synonyms and how they differ
- aphasic
- Aphasic usually means a total or severe loss of language, while dysphasic suggests partial impairment, although many doctors now use aphasic for both.
- language-impaired
- Language-impaired is a broader everyday term and includes causes other than brain injury.
Opposites
Word family
- dysphasia noun
- The language disorder itself.
- aphasia noun
- Loss or severe impairment of language.
- dysphasically adverb
- In a way caused by dysphasia, rarely used.
Commonly confused: dysphasic or dyspraxic? dysphasic or dysphagic?
dysphasic vs dyspraxic
Dyspraxic describes difficulty with movement and coordination, not language.
dysphasic vs dysphagic
Dysphagic relates to difficulty swallowing.
Practice
Someone who is dysphasic has difficulty with:
Choose one answer.
Dysphasia affects speaking and understanding. Swallowing is dysphagia, a similar-sounding term, and walking relates to dyspraxia or other conditions.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dysphasic”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.