Onomatomania – [ŏn’ə•māt’ə•mā’nē•ə] – noun:
- the frustration at being unable to think of an appropriate word (OED)
- an abnormal concentration on certain words and their supposed significance or on the effort to recall a particular word. (The American Heritage® Stedman’s Medical Dictionary)
- Obsession by a word or name; constant involuntary dwelling of the mind upon some one word (Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia)
- obsession with a particular word which the person uses repeatedly or which intrudes into consciousness (WordNet 3.6)
Thoughts: 4 definitions. 4 different answers. The subtle differences in these definitions could seriously effect the connotation. The thing to consider is that these definitions aren’t listed as 1 thru 4, where they each mean something different. This is the primary definition, with phrasing taken from 4 difference sources. I suppose, it’s sort a WTF moment.
Elizabeth DiFiore said:
I needed this word so badly…
amusing2write said:
Mind fart when the word you are trying to think of vanishes from your vocabulary. 😉