atrophy

[a-truh-fee]

noun

Also a·tro·phi·a

[uh-troh-fee-uh] /əˈtroʊ fi ə/. Pathology. a wasting away of the body or of an organ or part, as from defective nutrition or nerve damage.

degeneration, decline, or decrease, as from disuse: He argued that there was a progressive atrophy of freedom and independence of thought.

verb (used with or without object), at·ro·phied, at·ro·phy·ing.

to affect with or undergo atrophy.

Origin of atrophy

1590–1600; earlier atrophie (< Middle French) < Late Latin atrophia < Greek, equivalent to átroph(os) not fed (see a-⁶, tropho-) + -ia -ia

Related formsa·troph·ic

[uh-trof-ik, uh-troh-fik] /əˈtrɒf ɪk, əˈtroʊ fɪk/, adjectivenon·a·troph·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for atrophies

degeneration, decline, downfall, downgrade, deterioration, diminution, degeneracy

Examples from the Web for atrophies

Historical Examples of atrophies

Whichever faculty you use, the other atrophies, and partly deserts you.
This Simian World
Clarence Day
It becomes in fact the oviduct in the female and atrophies in the male.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume 1
Francis Maitland Balfour
Even when absorbed into the tissues in minute doses it corrodes the brain and atrophies the intellect.
The Bartlett Mystery
Louis Tracy
Many of these atrophies from disuse are cured by mental influence of one kind or another.
Psychotherapy
James J. Walsh
If it yields to their narcotic charms, the best brain grows rusty and atrophies in the long run.
Battle Studies
Charles-Jean-Jacques-Joseph Ardant du Picq

British Dictionary definitions for atrophies

atrophy

noun plural -phies

a wasting away of an organ or part, or a failure to grow to normal size as the result of disease, faulty nutrition, etc

any degeneration or diminution, esp through lack of use

verb -phies, -phying or -phied

to waste away or cause to waste away

Derived Formsatrophic (əˈtrɒfɪk), adjective

Word Origin for atrophy

C17: from Late Latin atrophia, from Greek, from atrophos ill-fed, from a- 1 + -trophos from trephein to feed

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

Word Origin and History for atrophies

atrophy

"a wasting away through lack of nourishment," 1620s (atrophied is from 1590s), from French atrophie, from Late Latin atrophia, from Greek atrophia "a wasting away," noun of state from atrophos "ill-fed, un-nourished," from a- "not" + trophe "nourishment," from trephein "to fatten" (see -trophy).

atrophy

1822 (implied in atrophied), from atrophy (n.). Related: Atrophying.

atrophies in Medicine

atrophy

[ăt′rə-fē]

n.

A wasting or decrease in the size of an organ or tissue, as from death and reabsorption of cells, diminished cellular proliferation, pressure, ischemia, malnutrition, decreased function, or hormonal changes.atrophia

v.

To undergo atrophy.

Related formsa•troph′ic (ā-trŏf′ĭk) adj.

atrophies in Science

atrophy

[ăt′rə-fē]

A wasting or decrease in the size of an organ or tissue, as from death and reabsorption of cells, diminished proliferation of cells, pressure, lack of oxygen, malnutrition, decreased function, or hormonal changes.

atrophies in Culture

atrophy

[(at-ruh-fee)]

The wasting away or decrease in size of an organ or tissue in the body. When a body part is affected by paralysis, the muscles may atrophy through lack of use.

Note

The term is also used in a more general way to refer to a wasting process: “Since he stopped playing, his piano skills have atrophied.”