word genius Word of the Day: Paramnesia

.Paramnesia par-am-NEE-zhə


Definition: Paramnesia 

A condition or phenomenon involving distorted memory or confusions of fact and fantasy, such as confabulation or déjà vu.

Examples of Paramnesia in a sentence

"Because of her paramnesia, Cherie has difficulty telling the difference between her dreams and yesterday’s events."
"One of the most common forms of paramnesia is the experience of déjà vu."

About Paramnesia


“Paramnesia” is formed by combining the prefix “para-,” meaning “beside,” with “amnesia,” meaning “loss of memory.”

Did you Know?


“Paramnesia” was an idea introduced by German psychiatrist Emil Kraepelin in 1886 as a term describing errors of remembering. Kraepelin saw “paramnesia” as referring to a number of conditions affected by faulty memory, key among them confusing reality with fantasy or dreams, experiencing déjà vu, and “reduplicative paramnesia.” In this last state, a person believes a physical location exists in multiple places simultaneously. Sometimes people suffering paramnesia also engage in “confabulation,” a remembering error that causes a person to generate false or distorted memories.


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