contractile

American  

[kuhn-trak-tl, -til] / kənˈtræk tl, -tɪl /

adjective

1. capable of contracting or causing contraction.

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contractile British  

/ ˌkɒntrækˈtɪlɪtɪ, kənˈtræktaɪl /

adjective

1. having the power to contract or to cause contraction

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Other Word Forms

• contractility noun
• uncontractile adjective

Etymology

Origin of contractile

First recorded in 1700–10; contract + -ile

Example Sentences

The findings revealed that the leg phase angle could estimate muscle contractile properties.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2024

The research team found that some of the proteins in the muscle cells act as a temperature sensor, and that heating affects skeletal and cardiac contractile systems differently.

From Science Daily • Oct. 25, 2023

In a paper published today in Nature, researchers report refashioning Photorhabdus’s syringe—called a contractile injection system—so that it can attach to human cells and inject large proteins into them.

From Scientific American • Mar. 29, 2023

For example, in the mechanical work of muscle contraction, ATP supplies the energy to move the contractile muscle proteins.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

In the ability of Amoeba to contract into a spherical mass, and in the presence in its protoplasm of the contractile vacuole, we see another type of spontaneous movement—contractility—of the protoplasm.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 7, Slice 8 "Cube" to "Daguerre, Louis" by Various