lethargic encephalitis

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Word: Lethargic Encephalitis

Definition: Lethargic encephalitis is a medical term for a serious brain inflammation that caused a widespread illness from 1915 to 1926. People affected by this disease experienced severe weakness and problems with eye movement.

Breakdown of the Term:

• Lethargic: This word describes a state of extreme tiredness or lack of energy, making someone feel sluggish or drowsy.
• Encephalitis: This refers to inflammation of the brain, which can be caused by infections or other medical conditions.

Usage Instructions:

• When to use: You would use "lethargic encephalitis" when discussing historical diseases, particularly in a medical or educational context.

Example Sentence:

• "During the epidemic of lethargic encephalitis, many people struggled with extreme tiredness and eye movement issues."

Advanced Usage:

In more advanced medical discussions, you might talk about the causes, effects, and treatments of lethargic encephalitis, or compare it with other types of encephalitis.

Word Variants:

• Lethargy (noun): A state of sluggishness or inactivity.
• Encephalitic (adjective): Pertaining to or affected by encephalitis.

Different Meanings:

• While "lethargic" can refer to general tiredness or lack of energy, it can also describe a lazy or unactive state in non-medical contexts.
• "Encephalitis" refers to brain inflammation, but there are different types (like viral encephalitis) that have various causes and symptoms.

Synonyms:

• For "lethargic": sluggish, inactive, drowsy.
• For "encephalitis": brain inflammation, brain infection.

Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:

• There are no specific idioms or phrasal verbs that directly relate to "lethargic encephalitis," but you might use phrases like "dragging oneself" to describe the feeling of lethargy.

Summary:

Lethargic encephalitis is a historical disease characterized by extreme tiredness and eye muscle weakness.

Academic

Noun

1. an encephalitis that was epidemic between 1915 and 1926; symptoms include paralysis of the extrinsic eye muscle and extreme muscular weakness

Synonyms

• sleeping sickness
• sleepy sickness
• epidemic encephalitis
• encephalitis lethargica