autism

Syllables: aut·ism/ˈɔːtɪzəm/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/ˈoːtɪzəm/

autism noun: autism spectrum disorder, a condition characterized by impairment in social communication and interaction, as well as a need or strong preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing differences, focused interests, or repetitive behaviours. This includes classic autism as well as other, previously distinct disorders such as Asperger's syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified. Also the deliberate misspelling of autumn.

Image: Andwhatsnext, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

autism (usually uncountable, plural autisms)

(usually) Autism spectrum disorder, a condition characterized by impairment in social communication and interaction, as well as a need or strong preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing differences, focused interests, or repetitive behaviours. This includes classic autism as well as other, previously distinct disorders such as Asperger's syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified.
(dated, usually) Classic autism, a pervasive neurological condition that is observable in early childhood and persists throughout the lifespan, characterised by atypical communication patterns (e.g., differences in body language or eye contact), delayed language development, and sensory processing sensitivities.
- Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. It helps with digestion and enables people to extract a lot more calories from their food than would otherwise be possible. Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism.2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, London: The Economist Group, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 Jul 2023, pages 72–3
(obsolete, usually) A diagnosis involving a pathological tendency to engage in self-centered fantasy thinking, historically considered a symptom of insanity or schizophrenia.
(Internet, offensive, usually, derogatory or self-deprecatory) Abnormal and unhealthy focus or persistence, stereotypically coupled with low self-awareness and unhealthy hatred of opposition or criticism.
- weaponized autism

Also used as

autism is also the deliberate misspelling of autumn.

autism meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

autism in Hindi

neurological disorder: स्वलीनता svalīntā

autism in Tamil

neurological disorder: ஆட்டிசம் āṭṭicam, மதி இறுக்கம் mati iṟukkam, மதியிறுக்கம் matiyiṟukkam

autism in Marathi

ऑटिझम, स्वलीनता

autism in Urdu

آٹزم, اوٹزم, آٹازم

More languagesFewer languages

autism in Bengali: অটিজম oṭijom
autism in Telugu: ఆటిజం, ఆటిజమ్, ఆటిసం
autism in Malayalam: ഓട്ടിസം ōṭṭisaṁ
autism in Kannada: ಸ್ವಲೀನತೆ, ಸ್ವಲೀನತೆಯ, ಸ್ವಲೀನತೆಯು
autism in Punjabi: ਔਟਿਜ਼ਮ auṭizam
autism in Gujarati: ઓટીઝમ, ઑટિઝમ, ઓટિઝમ
autism in Odia: ଅଟିଜିମ୍, ଅଟିଜମ, ଅଟିଜମ୍
autism in Nepali: अटिज्म, अटिजम, स्वलीनता
autism in Tagalog: autismo
autism in Arabic: تَوَحُّد tawaḥḥud, مَرَض التَّوَحُّد maraḍ at-tawaḥḥud
autism in Malay: autisme
autism in Indonesian: autisme
autism in Persian: درخودماندگی darxodmândegi
autism in Thai: ความหมกหมุ่น Khwām h̄mk h̄ mùn
autism in Vietnamese: tự kỉ
autism in Myanmar: အော်တစ်ဇင် autacjang
Dzongkha: སེམས་ནད sems nad

Examples of autism in a sentence

Having autism is merely one form of neurodifference; being gifted and talented is another form of neurodifference.
Having autism is merely one way of being neurodifferent; being gifted and talented is also a way of being neurodifferent.
Asperger's is an autism spectrum disorder.

All 37 example sentences with autism

Forms of autism

plural	autisms

Origin of autism

Borrowed from German Autismus, coined by Swiss psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler, first usage dated to 1907 attributed by Carl Jung as an alternative of his for "auto-erotism", although Bleuler himself differentiates the terms in his book Dementia Praecox, first published 1911. From Ancient Greek αὐτός (autós, “self”) + -ισμός (-ismós, “-ism”).

Phrases with autism

Questions about autism

What does autism mean?: Autism means autism spectrum disorder, a condition characterized by impairment in social communication and interaction, as well as a need or strong preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing differences, focused interests, or repetitive behaviours. This includes classic autism as well as other, previously distinct disorders such as Asperger's syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified.
What is autism in Hindi?: Autism in Hindi is स्वलीनता (svalīntā). See Autism meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is autism?: Autism is a noun.
How do you pronounce autism?: Autism is pronounced /ˈɔːtɪzəm/ (UK).
What is the plural of autism?: The plural of autism is autisms.

Words near autism in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: autism (page history and authors); autism (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); autism (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); autism (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); autism (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); autism (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); autism (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); autism (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-autism.ogg, En-US-autism.wav.

Cite this entry: “autism.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/autism. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.