neurodivergent
English
Etymology
From neuro- + divergent. Coined by neurodiversity activist Kassiane Asasumasu in 2000.[1][2]
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˌnjʊə.ɹəʊ.daɪˈvɜː.dʒənt/, /-dɪ-/
- (General American) IPA(key): /ˌnʊ.ɹoʊ.dɪˈvɜɹ.dʒənt/, /-daɪ-/
Audio (US): (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)dʒənt
- Hyphenation: neu‧ro‧di‧ver‧gent
Adjective
neurodivergent (comparative more neurodivergent, superlative most neurodivergent)
- Having an atypical neurological configuration. [from early 21st c.]
- Synonyms: ND, neuroatypical, (uncommon) aneurotypical, neurodiverse, (colloquial) neurospicy
- Antonym: neurotypical
- 2020 December 9, Ezra Marcus, “Tone Is Hard to Grasp Online. Can Tone Indicators Help?”, in The New York Times[4], →ISSN, archived from the original on 16 June 2021:
- Interpreting text can be frustrating for anyone online, but is particularly so for users who are neurodivergent — a wide category that can refer to people with a range of neurological differences including autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia.
- 2022, Joe Wells, Wired Differently, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, →ISBN, page 169:
- Neurodivergent people exist all over the world and in every class, gender, race and sexuality. On other planets there are probably neurodivergent aliens too […]
Usage notes
- Many discussions of neurodivergent people concern autism, but the term is not specific to solely that neurotype; it is hypernymic.[3]
Related terms
Translations
having an atypical neurological configuration
|
Noun
neurodivergent (plural neurodivergents)
- One who is neurodivergent.
- 2024 March 1, Shobhana, “7 ways for neurodivergents to succeed in customer support”, in Hiver[5], archived from the original on 6 June 2024:
- A second input stream, like closed captions, gives neurodivergents at work a better understanding of the context.
References
- ^ Nick Walker (2014), “Neurodiversity: some basic terms & definitions”, in Neuroqueer[1]
- ^ Kassiane Asasumasu (1 November 2010), “Inaugural Post: Autistics Speak Day”, in Radical Neurodivergence Speaking[2]
- ^ Archie, Ayana (29 October 2025), “How 'neurodivergent' became a word for many types of minds : NPR”, in Word of the Week[3], NPR, retrieved 26 November 2025
Dutch
Etymology
From neuro- + divergent. Calque of English neurodivergent.
Pronunciation
Audio (Netherlands): (file) - Hyphenation: neu‧ro‧di‧ver‧gent
Adjective
neurodivergent (comparative neurodivergenter, superlative neurodivergentst)
- neurodivergent (having an atypical neurological configuration)
- Synonym: neurodivers
Declension
| Declension of neurodivergent | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| uninflected | neurodivergent | |||
| inflected | neurodivergente | |||
| comparative | neurodivergenter | |||
| positive | comparative | superlative | ||
| predicative/adverbial | neurodivergent | neurodivergenter | het neurodivergentst het neurodivergentste | |
| indefinite | m./f. sing. | neurodivergente | neurodivergentere | neurodivergentste |
| n. sing. | neurodivergent | neurodivergenter | neurodivergentste | |
| plural | neurodivergente | neurodivergentere | neurodivergentste | |
| definite | neurodivergente | neurodivergentere | neurodivergentste | |
| partitive | neurodivergents | neurodivergenters | — | |
French
Etymology
From neuro- + divergent. Calque of English neurodivergent.
Pronunciation
Adjective
neurodivergent (feminine neurodivergente, masculine plural neurodivergents, feminine plural neurodivergentes)
- neurodivergent (having an atypical neurological configuration)
- Synonym: neuroatypique
- Antonym: neurotypique