atrophy

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French atrophie, from Latin atrophia, from Ancient Greek ἀτροφία (atrophía, “a wasting away”), from ἄτροφος (átrophos, “ill-fed, un-nourished”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + τροφή (trophḗ, “nourishment”), from τρέφω (tréphō, “I fatten”). Equivalent to a- +‎ -trophy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæt.ɹə.fi/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

Noun

atrophy (countable and uncountable, plural atrophies)

1. (pathology) A reduction in the functionality of an organ caused by disease, injury or lack of use.

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

atrophy (third-person singular simple present atrophies, present participle atrophying, simple past and past participle atrophied)

1. (intransitive) To wither or waste away.
   • 1987 June 13, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic):

     Boy. I love summer vacation. I can feel my brain beginning to atrophy already.

   • 2013 October 13, Ellen Barry, “The Russia Left Behind: A journey through a heartland on the slow road to ruin”, in The New York Times‎:

     The M10 highway looks normal enough at the southern limits of St. Petersburg, but then, with a jolt, it begins to atrophy. For the next 430 miles the surface of the highway, while paved, varies from corduroy to jaw-rattling patchwork.

2. (transitive) To cause to waste away or become abortive; to starve or weaken.
   • 2001, Tool (lyrics and music), “Schism”:

     Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion

Antonyms

• hypertrophy
• strengthen

Translations

See also

• -trophy
• hypotrophy
• decondition

Further reading

• atrophy on Wikipedia.Wikipedia