Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

contractility

American  
[kon-trak-til-i-tee] / ˌkɒn trækˈtɪl ɪ ti /

noun

  1. the property, as of muscle or other tissue, of being able to contract, or draw itself together, reducing its dimensions.

    Improvements in the contractility of the heart can be measured by a number of different methods to determine how much blood the heart pumps with each beat.


Etymology

Origin of contractility

First recorded in 1710–20; contractil(e) ( def. ) + -ity ( def. )

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The scientists also tested the effects of inhibiting contractility and cell adhesion and analysed the mechanical signature of embryonic cells with defective contractility.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2024

Compaction problems are therefore due to faulty contractility in these cells, and not a lack of adhesion between them, as was previously assumed.

From Science Daily • May 1, 2024

From the American Journal of Therapeutics: It “exerts no effect on the coronary flow, contractility, blood pressure, or heart rate. It has no significant negative inotropic or vasodilatory properties at rest or during exercise.”

From Washington Post • Feb. 11, 2022

This effect can be partially overcome by increasing the second variable, contractility, and raising SV, but over time, the heart is unable to compensate for decreased filling time, and preload also decreases.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

He instances, too, the ideas of resistance, muscular contractility, direction, extension, place, and motion, of which he says our apparently simple idea, weight, is compounded.

From Old-Fashioned Ethics and Common-Sense Metaphysics With Some of Their Applications by Thornton, William Thomas