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View synonyms for tetanus

tetanus

[ tet-n-uhs ]

noun

  1. Pathology. an infectious, often fatal disease caused by a specific bacterium that enters the body through wounds and characterized by respiratory paralysis and tonic spasms and rigidity of the voluntary muscles, especially those of the neck and lower jaw. Compare lockjaw.
  2. Also called tetanus bacillus. Bacteriology. the bacterium, Clostridium tetani, causing this disease.
  3. Physiology. a state of sustained contraction of a muscle during which the muscle does not relax to its initial length or tension, induced by a rapid succession of stimuli.


tetanus

/ ˈtɛtənəs /

noun

  1. Also calledlockjaw an acute infectious disease in which sustained muscular spasm, contraction, and convulsion are caused by the release of exotoxins from the bacterium, Clostridium tetani : infection usually occurs through a contaminated wound
  2. physiol any tense contraction of a muscle, esp when produced by electric shocks
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tetanus

/ tĕtn-əs /

  1. An acute, often fatal infectious disease caused by the bacterium Clostridium tetani, which usually enters the body through a wound and produces a toxin that affects nerve conduction. Tetanus is characterized by painful, spasmodic contractions of voluntary muscles, especially of the jaw.

tetanus

  1. An acute and infectious disease caused by the toxin produced by a kind of bacteria that enters the body through cuts or wounds; also called lockjaw. In tetanus, the muscles of the body, particularly the muscles of the jaw, contract in painful spasms. Tetanus is deadly but can be prevented through immunization (tetanus shots).
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Derived Forms

  • ˈtetanal, adjective
  • ˈtetaˌnoid, adjective
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Other Words From

  • teta·nal adjective
  • teta·noid adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tetanus1

1350–1400; < Latin < Greek tétanos spasm (of muscles), tetanus; replacing Middle English tetane < Latin, as above
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tetanus1

C16: via Latin from Greek tetanos, from tetanos taut, from teinein to stretch
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Example Sentences

As early as 2 months old, babies get a formulation called DTaP, which besides pertussis also protects against diphtheria and tetanus.

As was typically the case, Trump offered no further specifics, but all 50 states mandate not only MMR vaccinations, but shots against polio, diphtheria, whooping cough, tetanus and chicken pox for all schoolchildren.

It’s one thing for a patient to refuse a tetanus shot after they step on a rusty nail, Offit observed; tetanus is not a contagious disease.

She received a tetanus shot at a hospital several hours after the attack.

At a recent council meeting, she asked questions about pending water and sewer projects, thanked city employees for their work and urged residents exposed to recent flooding to get tetanus shots at the local health department.

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