Neurodiversity
//ˌnjʊəɹə(ʊ)daɪˈvɜːsɪti// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The variety of configurations of the brain, especially with regard to autism. uncountable, usually
"For me, the significance of the "Autistic Spectrum" lies in its call for and anticipation of a "Politics of Neurodiversity". […] The rise of Neurodiversity takes postmodern fragmentation one step further."
Example
More examples"If you "didn't have neurodiversity before the internet" then explain why Grandpa had a meltdown if the cutlery wasn't sorted by length?"
Etymology
From neuro- (prefix denoting the nervous system) + diversity, coined by the Australian sociologist Judy Singer (born 1951) in her Bachelor of Arts dissertation (1998), and popularized by Harvey Blume in The Atlantic in September 1998: see the quotations.
Related phrases
More for "neurodiversity"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.