-blastic

1. a combining form meaning “having a given type or number of buds, cells, or cell layers,” or “undergoing a given type of development,” as specified by the initial element.

   holoblastic.

Word History and Origins

Origin of -blastic¹

blasto-, -ic

Example Sentences

She said her son has been in treatment for acute blastic leukemia for more than half of his life.

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C.M.L. has three stages: chronic, accelerated and blastic.

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Ye ugly, creepin, blastic wormer, Detested, shunn'd by saunt and sinner, How dare ye set your fit upon her Sae fine a lady!

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And Dar Hyal succumbed, flinging Asia and the Asiatics to the winds, along with his arms and legs, as he weirdly parodied the tango in what he declared to be the "blastic" culmination of modern dancing.

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Dar Hyal, a willing and eager ally, had charged around the flank with his blastic theory of music and taken O'Hay in reverse.

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When To Use

What does -blastic mean?

The combining form -blastic is used like a suffix with a variety of meanings. Especially in terms from botany, it means "having a given type or number of buds." In other scientific terms, this meaning is applied metaphorically to mean "having a given type or number of cells or cell layers" or "undergoing a given type of development."The form -blastic comes from a combination of two forms. The first is -blast, from Greek blastós, meaning “bud” or “sprout.” The second is the suffix -ic, from Latin -icus, meaning "having some characteristics of." Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article for -blast.