terminal lucidity
nounEtymology From terminal + lucidity.
1
A rare, mysterious phenomenon when someone with a severe neurological or psychiatric condition (like dementia) experiences a sudden, temporary return of mental clarity, memory, and personality just before death, allowing for clear communication and recognition; appearing one's old self for a brief period before passing away.
- Terminal lucidity was reported by 60% of the participants in Santos et al.’s (2017) study and by 73% of the participants in Claxton-Oldfield and Richard’s (2022) study.2026 June 23, Stephen Claxton-Oldfield, Sara MacEachern, “Undergraduate Students’ Awareness of and Beliefs About Unusual End-of-Life Phenomena”, in Omega, volume 93, number 2, →DOI, →ISSN, page 1224:
- Synonyms
- terminal rally, rallying, rally, pre-mortem surge, energy surge, surge, end-of-life experience