Semantic Satiation
Semantic satiation is the temporary draining of meaning from a word when you repeat or stare at it enough times, until it becomes a bare sound or shape.
Full definition of Semantic Satiation →:: COMPARE ::
Semantic satiationvsJamais vu
The short answer
Same experiment, different half of the result. Semantic satiation names the fading of a word's meaning; jamais vu names the eerie unfamiliarity that fading produces. Researchers have used the same word-repetition task to induce both.
Side by side
| Aspect | Semantic satiation | Jamais vu |
|---|---|---|
| Names | The mechanism | The feeling |
| You notice | Meaning draining | Strangeness arriving |
| Induced by | Repetition | Repetition |
| Reversible | Yes | Yes |
What each one means
Jamais Vu
Jamais vu is the unsettling sense that something you know perfectly well — a word, a face, a room — has become strange and unfamiliar.
Full definition of Jamais Vu →