What term describes an inability to experience pleasure?

The term that describes an inability to experience pleasure is anhedonia. Anhedonia is a symptom frequently associated with major depressive disorder and other mental health conditions, where individuals may find that activities that used to be enjoyable no longer elicit any sense of joy or satisfaction. This can significantly impact a person's quality of life, leading to withdrawal from social activities and a lack of motivation.

In contrast, apathy refers to a general lack of interest or concern, which may not specifically involve the loss of pleasure in activities. Depression encompasses a range of symptoms, including sadness, fatigue, and hopelessness, but is broader than just the inability to feel pleasure. Sadness is an emotional state characterized by feelings of unhappiness or sorrow, but it does not specifically highlight the absence of pleasure, which is the core aspect of anhedonia. Therefore, anhedonia is the most precise term for the inability to derive pleasure from normally enjoyable activities.