atrophy

American  

[a-truh-fee] / ˈæ trə fi /

noun

1. Pathology. Also atrophia a wasting away of the body or of an organ or part, as from defective nutrition or nerve damage.

2. degeneration, decline, or decrease, as from disuse.

   He argued that there was a progressive atrophy of freedom and independence of thought.

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verb (used with or without object)

atrophied, atrophying

1. to affect with or undergo atrophy.

atrophy British  

/ ˈætrəfɪ, əˈtrɒfɪk /

noun

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

2. any degeneration or diminution, esp through lack of use

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verb

1. to waste away or cause to waste away

atrophy Scientific  

/ ăt′rə-fē /

1. 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.

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atrophy Cultural  

1. 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.

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Discover More

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.”

Other Word Forms

• atrophic adjective
• nonatrophic adjective

Etymology

Origin of atrophy

First recorded in 1590–1600; earlier atrophie, from Middle French, from Late Latin atrophia, from Greek, from átroph(os) “not fed, unnourished” (from a- a- ⁶ + troph(ḗ) “nourishment” + -os, adjective suffix; tropho- ) + -ia -ia

Example Sentences

Zolgensma, an in vivo therapy for spinal muscular atrophy, launched at $2.1 million a dose—at the time the most expensive drug the FDA ever approved.

From The Wall Street Journal

Searle lives with dominant optic atrophy, a genetic eye condition which affects his vision and for which he wears contact lenses.

From BBC

Prof Holmes points to research about cognitive atrophy, where someone's abilities and skills become worse after using AI.

From BBC

A paper titled “The Memory Paradox” states that “frequently offloading cognitive work to devices may cause certain ‘mental muscles’ to atrophy.”

From The Wall Street Journal

The new version, which Novartis will sell under the brand name Itvisma, is approved for spinal muscular atrophy patients aged 2 and older.

From Barron's

Related Words

• degeneration