Meaning & use
telesthesia
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Meaning
noununcountabletechnicalrare
The claimed ability to become aware of events or things far away without using the known senses.
Grammar: Used as a mass noun with no article: 'research into telesthesia'. It is not usually pluralized.
Patterns
- research into telesthesia
- a case of telesthesia
The parapsychologist wrote a book about telesthesia, the supposed sensing of distant events.
In the experiment, participants were tested for telesthesia by trying to identify hidden pictures in another room.
Common combinations
- research into telesthesia
- She published a paper on research into telesthesia and other claimed psychic abilities.
- a case of telesthesia
- The society investigated a reported case of telesthesia involving a mother who sensed her child was in danger.
- claim of telesthesia
- Scientists remain skeptical of any claim of telesthesia because the results are hard to repeat.
- study of telesthesia
- His study of telesthesia focused on whether people could describe distant locations they had never seen.
Synonyms and how they differ
- clairvoyance
- Clairvoyance usually means seeing distant or hidden things in the mind, while telesthesia is the broader term for sensing distant events through any means beyond the normal senses.
- extrasensory perception
- Extrasensory perception (ESP) is the everyday term for this idea; telesthesia is a more technical, less common word used mostly in specialist writing.
- telepathy
- Telepathy specifically means reading another person's thoughts, whereas telesthesia can involve sensing objects or events, not just minds.
Word family
- telesthetic adjective
- Relating to telesthesia; for example, 'a telesthetic experience'.
Commonly confused: telesthesia or telepathy? telesthesia or telekinesis?
telesthesia vs telepathy
People often confuse telesthesia with telepathy. Telepathy is only about communication between minds, while telesthesia is a wider term for sensing distant things or events.
telesthesia vs telekinesis
Telekinesis means moving objects with the mind, not sensing them. Telesthesia is about awareness, not action.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'telesthesia' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Telesthesia is the claimed ability to sense distant events, so option 0 fits. Option 1 describes telekinesis (moving objects with the mind), option 2 confuses it with a medical treatment, and option 3 describes photosynthesis.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “telesthesia”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.