derealization

American  

[dee-ree-uh-luh-zey-shuhn] / diˌri ə ləˈzeɪ ʃən /

noun

Psychiatry.

1. an alteration in perception leading to the feeling that the reality of the world has been changed or lost.

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Etymology

Origin of derealization

1940–45; de- + realization, originally in the phrase feeling of derealization, as translation of German Entfremdungsgefühl (Freud)

Example Sentences

Since then, the user said he had changed, “mainly from the anxiety and sense of derealization and hopelessness.”

From Seattle Times • Mar. 17, 2023

By estranging me from the world, derealization, paradoxically, makes it more real.

From Scientific American • Jun. 14, 2022

Whatever derealization means to us, however we cope with it, we’re surely better off if we can talk about it openly, as Camille and others do in her brave, revealing film.

From Scientific American • Jun. 14, 2022

Most people who experience depersonalization and derealization find that it improves within a few weeks, without professional intervention.

From Washington Post • Dec. 17, 2021

Although depersonalization and derealization can occur in a variety of psychiatric disorders, from the early stages of psychoses to depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder, they’re quite common in the general population.

From Washington Post • Dec. 17, 2021