Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The condition of being unable or unwilling to speak as a result of a physical or psychological disorder.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The state of being mute or dumb; silence.
- noun Same as
mutage .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The condition, state, or habit of being mute, or without speech.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A psychological disorder in which the sufferer cannot speak in certain situations.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun the condition of being unable or unwilling to speak
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The catatonic syndrome of negativistic stupor, characterized by mutism, negativism, stupor, and catalepsy, is also extremely responsive to ECT.
The Neuropsychiatric Guide to Modern Everyday Psychiatry Michael Alan Taylor 1993
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Gioffredi (_Gazzetta degli Ospedali_, October 1, 1895) has shown that some hysterical symptoms, such as mutism, can be cured by etherization, thus loosening the control of the higher centres.
Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 1 The Evolution of Modesty; The Phenomena of Sexual Periodicity; Auto-Erotism Havelock Ellis 1899
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"Olivia suffered elective mutism, meaning she stopped talking, when she had both her legs amputated, and everyone always says I'm a blabbermouth so I thought it was a good idea to do a sponsored silence," Sarah-Jane said.
News round-up 2009
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"Olivia suffered elective mutism, meaning she stopped talking, when she had both her legs amputated, and everyone always says I'm a blabbermouth so I thought it was a good idea to do a sponsored silence," Sarah-Jane said.
News round-up 2009
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Symptoms occur within 15 minutes to 38 hours post ingestion of filter feeding shellfish (mussels, clams) from endemic areas. 8,10 Neurotoxic findings of ASP include mutism, hemiparesis, memory loss, purposeless chewing, coma and seizures.
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As for links between mutism and OCD, I don't have a scientific answer to that query.
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I was talking to a mom today whose daughter's elementary teacher said she was afraid that her daughter had "selective mutism."
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And while there certainly are similarities between selective mutism and
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One such problem that was discussed was selective mutism, an anxiety disorder that Dr. Koplewicz described as "when kids are chatterboxes at home, and yet are literally paralyzed in strange situations."
Child Mind Institute Luncheon Priya Rao 2010
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And then I had the breakthrough that his selective mutism stemmed from some specific reason, a secret explanation.
Catherine Murdock discusses her first novel, Dairy Queen. 2010
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