What does synaesthesia mean?
Synaesthesia is a condition in which the brain links different sensory or emotional experiences, causing one stimulus to evoke another automatically. A person with synaesthesia, for example, might see coloured shapes when hearing music, or taste a particular word. The phenomenon is most often associated with vision and hearing, but it can involve several senses. In literature and art criticism, synaesthesia also has a broader metaphorical meaning: the blending of different experiences, such as describing a colour as a musical note or a sound as sweet. The word is especially useful because it names both a distinctive neurological experience and a powerful imaginative technique that crosses the boundaries between the senses.
A neurological condition in which stimulation of one sensory or emotional pathway produces automatic experiences in another, often involving a fixed association between sounds and colours or between words and tastes.
"He experiences synaesthesia, perceiving musical notes as distinct colours."
When used medically, the term usually refers to an involuntary and often highly consistent neurological association.
The literary or artistic blending of different sensory experiences, as when a poem describes a sound as fragrant or a colour as loud.
"The novel's synaesthesia turns each change of season into a distinct sound and shade."
This is a figurative and critical use, especially associated with poetry, painting, and other creative works.
The plural is used when referring to different forms or cases of synaesthesia.
"Documented synaesthesias vary widely in the senses involved and in the associations they produce."
Some people hear music as colours or taste words as flavours, turning ordinary sound into a private universe of sensation.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does synaesthesia come from?
The word comes from Greek roots meaning “together” and “perception” or “sensation.” The corresponding Greek-derived form synesthesia is common in American English, while synaesthesia reflects the traditional British spelling. Its medical sense developed from the idea of a combined or joined sensation, and its literary sense follows from the same underlying idea of connecting different sensory impressions.
Related word forms
How synaesthesia is actually used
The medical sense is used for a real sensory phenomenon, while the literary sense is metaphorical and especially common in discussions of poetry and the arts. British English generally uses "synaesthesia" and American English generally uses "synesthesia".
Easily confused with synaesthesia
Synaesthesia is the traditional British spelling, while synesthesia is the standard American spelling; both refer to the same phenomenon.
Synaesthesia links one sensory experience with another, whereas anesthesia is the loss of sensation, particularly the inability to feel pain.