Atrophy

Definition: Atrophy

Atrophy

Noun

1. A decrease in size of an organ caused by disease or disuse.

2. Any weakening or degeneration (especially through lack of use).

Verb

1. Undergo atrophy; "Muscles that are not used will atrophy".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "atrophy" was first used: 1620. (references)

Health

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Synonyms: Atrophy

Contraction

Noun: contraction, reduction, diminution; decrease; of size; defalcation, decrement; lessening, shrinking; Verb: compaction; tabes, collapse, emaciation, attenuation, tabefaction, consumption, marasmus, atrophy; systole, neck, hourglass.

Deterioration

Decay, dilapidation, ravages of time, wear and tear; corrosion, erosion; moldiness, rottenness; moth and rust, dry rot, blight, marasmus, atrophy, collapse; disorganization; delabrement; (destruction).; aphid, Aphis, plant louse, puceron; vinefretter, vinegrub.

Disease

Delicacy, loss of health, invalidation, cachexy; cachexia, atrophy, marasmus; indigestion, dyspepsia; decay; (deterioration); decline, consumption, palsy, paralysis, prostration.

Crosswords: Atrophy

I prefer to atrophy. (Manhattan Murder Mystery; writing credit: Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman. Starring Woody Allen as Larry Lipton, Diane Keaton as Carol Lipton, Alan Alda as Ted, and Anjelica Huston as Marcia Fox.)

I must express in the strongest possible terms my profound opposition to the newly instituted practice which imposes severe and intolerable restrictions on the ingress and egress of senior members of the hierarchy and will, in all probability, should the current deplorable innovation be perpetuated, precipitate a progressive constriction of the channels of communication, culminating in a condition of organisational atrophy and administrative paralysis which will render effectively impossible the coherent and co-ordinated discharge of the function of government within Her Majesty's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. (Yes, Prime Minister; writing credit: Tom Musca)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

References

• The Official Patient's Sourcebook on Cerebral Atrophy (reference)

  (more reference examples)

Books

• A Mother's Memoir of a Borrowed Angel: Living With Progressive Muscular Atrophy (reference)

• Affluence, altruism, and atrophy : the decline of welfare states (reference)

• Current Concepts in Childhood Spinal Muscular Atrophy (reference)

• Flexibility and responsiveness in the Ghana economy : post decline atrophy syndome (reference)

• Multiple System Atrophy (reference)

  (more book examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Note the typical features of neuro-ocular syphilis, which includes severe optic nerve atrophy, and chorioretinitis, or inflammation of the choroidal and neural layers of the retina. Credit: CDC.

The Spinal Form of Progressive Muscular Atrophy. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Progressive Muscular Atrophy. Credit: National Library of Medicine.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Health

Optic atrophy may also occur, often leading to blindness. (references)

Physical therapy is usually recommended to avoid muscle atrophy. (references)

In some cases, the atrophy stops before the entire face is affected. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "atrophy": acute yellow liver atrophy ♦ atrophy of the optic nerve ♦ Fuchs atrophy ♦ gastric atrophy ♦ Gyrate Atrophy ♦ gyrate atrophy of choroid and retina ♦ gyrate atrophy of the chorioidea and retina ♦ Multiple System Atrophy ♦ Muscle atrophy ♦ Muscular Atrophy ♦ Neuronal atrophy ♦ optic atrophy ♦ peroneal muscular atrophy ♦ progressive muscular atrophy ♦ spinal muscular atrophy ♦ Testicular atrophy ♦ undergo atrophy ♦ yellow atrophy. Additional references.

Afrikaans

atrofie. (various references)

Albanian

atrofi. (various references)

Arabic 

‏توقف النمو, ‏ضمور عضوي, ‏ضمور (leanness), ‏ضمر (fall, mean), ‏الضمور, ‏أصاب بالضمور. (various references)

Bulgarian 

ослабване (attenuation), закърнявам (abort), атрофирам, атрофия (dorsal tabes, emaciation, obsolescense). (various references)

Chinese 

痿 . (various references)

Czech

atrofie. (various references)

Danish

atrofi. (various references)

Dutch

atrofie. (various references)

Esperanto

atrofio, atrofiiĝi, atrofii. (various references)

Farsi 

نقصان قوه ء نامیه , لاغری (Impotence), لاغرکردن (Attenuate, Gaunt, Thin), لاغرشدن , ضعف بنیه , خشک شدن (Shrivel). (various references)

Finnish

surkastua (be checked in its growth, be stunted, wither), kuivettua (become parched, dry, wither). (various references)

French

atrophie (atrophies), atrophier. (various references)

German

verkümmerung (impoverishment, stunted growth, wasting away), atrophie (atrophia), verkümmern (die, go to waste, molder, rust, stultify, waste, waste away, wither, wither away), schwund (decline, decrease, depletion, dwindling, fading, loss, shrinkage, ullage, wastage, waste). (various references)

Greek 

ατροφία. (various references)

Hebrew 

ל�"ת� ון (decadent, degenerate, languish, run to seed, waste away), ל� ון (blast, degenerate), �"ל�"ול (degeneration, depletion, exhaustion, poverty, slack, weakness), � וון (decadence, decline, degeneration). (various references)

Hungarian

sorvadás (phthisis, tabescence). (various references)

Indonesian

terhentinya pertumbuhan. (various references)

Italian

atrofia. (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

萎縮症 , 萎縮 (contraction, dwarf, withering), �"縮 (contraction, dwarf, withering). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

いしゅくしょう, いしゅく (contraction, cower, dwarf, recoil, wince, withering). (various references)

Manx

shirgaghey (contract, dry up, languish, mummify, perish, sear, shrivel, wilt, wither, withering). (various references)

Pig Latin

atrophyay

Portuguese

atrofia. (various references)

Romanian

atrofiere (atrophying), atrofie, atrofia, slãbire (abatement, attenuation, decay, dilution, emasculation, enervation, fading, failing, failure, labefaction, looseness, maceration, slendering, stringency, weakening), deteriorare (defacement, deterioration, disrepair, impairment). (various references)

Russian 

атрофия (wasting), притупление. (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

atrofija. (various references)

Spanish

atrofia. (various references)

Swedish

atrofi, komma at förtvina, förtvining (obsolescence, withering). (various references)

Thai

อาการลีบเล็ก, การเสื่อมลง, ตีบ. (various references)

Turkish

atrofi, köreltmek (blunt, damp, damp down, dampen, dull, rust), körelmek (become blunt, rust), körelme (rust, rustiness), dumura uğratmak, dumura uğramak, dumur. (various references)

Ukrainian

схуднення (emaciation, waste), втрата (deprivation, detriment, forfeiture, leakage, losing, loss, waste), виснажуватися (collapse, emaciate, peter out, run low), зморювати (emaciate, exhaust, fatigue, over-fatigue), атрофія органа, атрофуватися, припинення розвитку. (various references)

Vietnamese 

sự teo sự hao mòn. (various references)

Welsh

annhyfiant. (various references)

atrophia. (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "atrophy": atrophying. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Atrophy" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: antrophy, arophy, Astrophys, atophy, atraphy, atrofy, atrohpy, atrohy, atroph, atrophe, atrophi, atrophia, atrophie, atroply, atropy, autrophy, gastraophy, Matrouh, strophy. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: trophy.

-2 letters: aport, atopy, harpy, hoary, party, payor, rhyta, thorp, torah.

-3 letters: ahoy, arty, atop, harp, hart, hoar, hora, hoya, hypo, oath, opah, part, path, paty, phat, phot, port, prao, prat, pray, proa, rapt, rath, rato, ropy, rota, ryot, tahr, taro, tarp, thro, toph, tora, tory, trap, tray, trop, troy, typo, tyro.

-4 letters: apt.

+2 letters: typograph.

+3 letters: apothecary, atrophying, autography, autotrophy, auxotrophy, hydropathy, hypertonia, macrophyte, neuropathy, saprophyte, tomography, topography, tryptophan, typographs, typography.

+4 letters: antiphonary, aortography, arthropathy, arthroscopy, cardiopathy, cartography, cryotherapy, cryptograph, enteropathy, ethnography, hydropathic, hymenoptera, hypertonias, hypocentral, hypogastric, hypothermal, hypothermia, lithography, lycanthrope, lycanthropy, macrophytes, macrophytic, misanthropy, mythography, naturopathy, nephropathy, orthography, parathyroid, paratyphoid, petrography, photography, pictography, retinopathy, rhinoplasty, saprophytes, saprophytic, stenography, stylography, trophically, tryptophane, tryptophans, typographed, typographer, typographic.