arrhythmic

American  

[uh-rith-mik, ay-rith-] / əˈrɪð mɪk, eɪˈrɪð- /

adjective

1. lacking in rhythm or having an irregular rhythm.

2. Medicine/Medical. of or relating to arrhythmia.

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Other Word Forms

• arrhythmicity
  noun
• antiarrhythmic
  adjective
• non-arrhythmic
  adjective
• proarrhythmic
  adjective
• arrhythmically
  adverb

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Explanation

Someone who can’t keep a beat is probably a bad dancer. They’re also arrhythmic, which is an adjective that means having no rhythm at all. Most people have a steady heartbeat, ticking one pulse after another like a clock. But if you have an arrhythmic heartbeat, better call a doctor!. An arrhythmic heart beats randomly, without any regular pattern. The word can be tough to spell, so one trick is to start with the word rhythm, then add the prefix ar- (meaning “without”) and the suffix -ic (“characterized by”). Spell it that way, and you’ve got the definition memorized too: "characterized by being without rhythm."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

arrhythmic

When their pulse is arrhythmic, as Cowboy’s was when we first met, it jolts everyone around him into a sense of unease.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2025

Each pulse is triggered in response to the measured arrhythmic activity.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 23, 2024

ARLINGTON, Va. — It sounded like popcorn warming in a microwave: sporadic bursts that quickened, gradually, to an arrhythmic clatter.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 30, 2023

Both girls were suffering from infections before they died, and the scientists suggested that: "A fatal arrhythmic event may have been triggered by their intercurrent infections."

From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2021

When she walked, her long rosary clicked with a most repressed, arrhythmic music.

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

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