alogia

alogia — noun

1. a condition in which a person loses the ability to produce spoken words or speak

1.nounC2
Definition

a condition in which a person loses the ability to produce spoken words or speaks with great effort and very few words, often resulting from brain damage, dementia, or a mental health condition such as schizophrenia.

Example

The neurologist noted alogia after the stroke damaged the left side of the brain.

alogia observed after brain injury; typical clinical context

A 45-year-old woman with schizophrenia showed clear signs of alogia during the psychiatric evaluation.

Common collocations
  • show alogia
  • develop alogia
  • experience alogia
  • alogia as a negative symptom
  • alogia after a stroke
Synonyms
  • speechlessness

    less clinical; describes a temporary inability to speak from shock or emotion

  • mutism

    a broader clinical term meaning complete absence of speech, not just reduced fluency

  • poverty of speech

    a near-synonym used specifically in psychiatric assessment of schizophrenia

Antonyms
  • fluency

    smooth, effortless speech production; the opposite of alogia

  • logorrhea

    excessive, uncontrolled speech; a clinical antonym in psychiatric settings

Grammar Patterns

often used with: develop alogia, experience alogia, show alogia

Usage Note

Alogia is a clinical term used by neurologists and psychiatrists to describe reduced speech output, not to be confused with aphasia (loss of the ability to understand or produce language). Frequently uncountable (e.g., 'the patient shows alogia').

Common Mistakes

The patient has an alogia.
The patient shows alogia.
alogia is uncountable and is not used with an article.
His alogia means he cannot understand anything.
His alogia means he speaks very little.
alogia refers to reduced speech production, not comprehension.

Word family

  • alogic
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Alogia, aphasia, mutism, and speechlessness all describe an absence or reduction of spoken language, but they differ in scope and clinical use. Alogia specifically refers to reduced speech output — the person says very little or speaks with effort — and is a key negative symptom in schizophrenia. Aphasia is a broader language disorder affecting comprehension, naming, reading, or writing, and is most often caused by stroke or brain injury. Mutism means a complete, voluntary or involuntary lack of speech, as seen in selective mutism or severe catatonia. Speechlessness is a non-clinical term for a temporary inability to speak due to strong emotion or surprise. For example, a stroke patient with aphasia may not understand questions, while a patient with alogia understands but can only produce short answers.

alogia ↗aphasiamutism ↗speechlessness ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • negative symptom of schizophrenia
  • reduced speech output

Prepositions

  • alogia after [an injury]
  • alogia in [a patient]

Etymology

GreekEnglish

Alogia comes from the Greek prefix a- ('without') and logos ('speech, reason'), literally meaning 'without speech'. The term entered medical usage in the late 19th century to describe a lack of spoken output in psychiatric and neurological contexts.