Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
noun Psychiatry.
- a syndrome seen most frequently in schizophrenia, characterized by muscular rigidity and mental stupor, sometimes alternating with great excitement and confusion.
noun
- a state of muscular rigidity and stupor, sometimes found in schizophrenia
1888, from medical Latin catatonia; replacing katatonia (1880s), which was formed directly from Greek kata- “down” (see cata-) + tonos “tone” (see tenet).
n.
- An abnormal condition often associated with schizophrenia and variously characterized by stupor, stereotypy, mania, and either rigidity or extreme flexibility of the limbs.