arrested development
A child's arrested development was evident in their delayed speech and motor skills.
Noun: - An abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely: This term describes a condition where the physical, mental, or emotional growth of a person or thing ceases at an immature stage and does not progress to a normal, mature state.
The term is used to describe a permanent or long-term halt in the typical progression of growth or maturation. It is most commonly applied in medical, psychological, and sociological contexts. - It can refer to a psychological or emotional condition where an individual's emotional responses remain fixed at a childhood or adolescent level. - It can also describe a physical condition where an organ or organism does not develop fully. - In a broader, sometimes metaphorical sense, it can be applied to projects, ideas, or systems that have failed to advance or mature.
- Psychological Context:
- The trauma he experienced as a child resulted in an arrested development, leaving him with the emotional coping mechanisms of a teenager.
- Physical/Medical Context:
- The scans revealed an arrested development in the bone structure of his left hand.
- Sociological/Metaphorical Context:
- Critics argued that the policy led to an arrested development of the region's economic infrastructure.
- "a case of arrested development": A common phrase used to specify an instance of this condition.
- Her fear of intimacy was analyzed as a classic case of arrested development.
- Stunted growth (noun phrase): Often used interchangeably in some contexts, particularly for physical development, though it can imply a slowing rather than a complete stop.
- Fixation (noun): In Freudian psychology, a related concept where a person becomes psychologically "stuck" at an early stage of psychosexual development.
- Stagnation: A state of lack of activity, growth, or development. (More general, not necessarily abnormal or premature).
- Cessation of development: A more formal, descriptive synonym.
- Maturation: The process of becoming mature.
- Development: The process of growing or progressing.
- Growth: The process of increasing in size or maturity.
- The term gained significant popular cultural recognition as the title of a television series, which uses it metaphorically to describe the dysfunctional, immature behavior of its central family.
- In formal clinical use, it is a descriptive term rather than a specific diagnosis. Specific disorders involving developmental delays have their own diagnostic names (e.g., certain intellectual disabilities).
A child's arrested development was evident in their delayed speech and motor skills.
- an abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely