Dysnomia (from Greek dys- = difficulty and nomia = naming) refers to a language disorder, specifically a difficulty in retrieving words or names. It is considered a mild form of anomia.

It often occurs in people with damage to the dominant hemisphere of the brain (usually the left).

Common in conditions like aphasia, neurodegenerative diseases (e.g., Alzheimer's), traumatic brain injury, or temporal lobe epilepsy.

Example: a person wants to say “fork” but can’t recall the word, even though they know what it is and how to use it.