Definition

Noun: A medical condition characterized by the body's inability to retain or control its normal secretions or excretions.

Usage

This is a highly specialized medical term. It is used in clinical and pathological contexts to describe a specific failure of physiological retention. - The patient's acathexia presented a significant challenge for the care team. - Acathexia can be a symptom of certain neurological disorders.

Advanced Usage

The term is almost exclusively used in technical medical literature and discussions. It is not used in everyday language.

Variants and Related Words

• Cathexis (n): In psychoanalytic theory, the concentration of mental energy on a particular person, idea, or object. (Note: This is a different, unrelated term from psychology).
• -hexia (suffix): A suffix used in medical terminology relating to a condition or habit of the body.

Synonyms

• Incontinence (Note: "Incontinence" is a broader, more common term that can refer to an inability to retain urine or feces, whereas "acathexia" can refer more broadly to various bodily secretions).
• Secretory incontinence

Antonyms

• Retention
• Control

Noun

1. an inability to retain bodily secretions