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

"We linked each property to different contractile mechanisms and asked how they are connected to cancer cell escape and tumor aggressiveness."

From Science Daily • May 7, 2024

The model also predicted how another type of contractile fiber could be targeted by the experimental Src inhibitor WH4023, which they experimentally validated with human cardiac fibroblasts.

From Science Daily • Feb. 1, 2024

Furthermore, declaring a single, electrically active and contractile organ, or the contractile cells it comes from, the stand-alone determinant of personhood is simply not valid.

From Scientific American • Jan. 23, 2023

These animals possess a ring of muscles lining the dome of the body, which provides the contractile force required to swim through water.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Rostrif′era, a suborder of gasteropods, with contractile rostrum or snout.—adjs.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various