hypnopedia

IPA/hˌɪpnəʊpˈiːdiə/
IPA/hˌɪpnoʊpˈiːdiə/

hypnopedia — noun

1. the idea or practice of teaching someone facts, words, or skills while they are

1.nounC2
Definition

the idea or practice of teaching someone facts, words, or skills while they are asleep, often by playing audio lessons through headphones during the night.

Example

Hiro tried hypnopedia for a month, playing French vocabulary through headphones every night.

subject + try + hypnopedia + for [duration]

Studies on hypnopedia in the 1950s claimed that students could learn poems while they slept.

noun phrase: studies on hypnopedia

Common collocations
  • studies on hypnopedia
  • use hypnopedia to
  • try hypnopedia
  • hypnopedia experiment
Synonyms

Usage Note

Uncountable; takes no plural. Subject of verbs like 'work', 'help', 'teach'; common in phrases such as 'studies on hypnopedia' and 'use hypnopedia to'.

Common Mistakes

She tried several hypnopedias.
She tried hypnopedia several times.
hypnopedia is uncountable; use 'times' or 'methods' for the count.
He used hypnopedia to forget his fear.
He used hypnotherapy to forget his fear.
hypnopedia is sleep-learning, not therapy under hypnosis.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Hypnopedia is the technical name for trying to learn while asleep, usually by playing recordings. Sleep-learning is the everyday English equivalent and is far more common in normal speech. Hypnosis is a completely different idea: a person is awake but in a focused, relaxed state, often guided by a therapist; it is used for therapy or stage shows, not for memorising facts. Subliminal learning refers to taking in messages that are below the level of conscious attention while you are awake, for example very quiet audio under music. So hypnopedia is specifically about sleep; hypnosis is about a special awake state; subliminal learning is about hidden signals while alert.

hypnopedia ↗sleep-learninghypnosis ↗subliminal learning

Common collocations

Nouns

  • hypnopedia experiment
  • hypnopedia research
  • hypnopedia method

Phrases

  • use hypnopedia to
  • try hypnopedia

Prepositions

  • on (studies on hypnopedia)
  • through (learn through hypnopedia)

Etymology

GreekEnglish

Coined in the early twentieth century from Greek 'hupnos' meaning sleep and 'paideia' meaning education or training. The term became widely known after Aldous Huxley used it in his 1932 novel Brave New World to describe state-run sleep conditioning of children.