terminal decline

a rapid deterioration in cognitive abilities immediately before death. The cognitive abilities that appear to be most prone to terminal decline are those least affected by normal aging (see hold functions). Also called terminal drop.

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Psychology term of the day

January 15th 2025

prescriptive grammar

an approach to grammar in which a series of rules is used to distinguish proper from improper usage and a standard version of the language is identified and promoted (see standard language). It is often contrasted with descriptive grammar, in which the goal is to provide an accurate account of language use without specification as to correctness. Prescriptive grammarians seek to correct nonstandard forms, such as I can’t get no satisfaction, whereas descriptive grammarians seek to characterize the rule system that produces such utterances.