detumescence

American  

[dee-too-mes-uhns, -tyoo-] / ˌdi tuˈmɛs əns, -tyu- /

noun

1. reduction or subsidence of swelling.

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detumescence British  

/ ˌdiːtjʊˈmɛsəns /

noun

1. the subsidence of a swelling, esp the return of a swollen organ, such as the penis, to the flaccid state

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Other Word Forms

• detumescent adjective

Etymology

Origin of detumescence

1670–80; < Latin dētumēsc ( ere ) to cease swelling ( dē- de- + tumēscere to swell) + -ence; tumescent

Example Sentences

This appears rather remarkable, inasmuch as we must assume that in the phylogeny of our species the processes of detumescence appeared earlier.

From The Sexual Life of the Child by Paul, Eden

Such a phenomenon indicates that the relationship of detumescence to the deepening of the voice is not quite simple.

From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 5 Erotic Symbolism; The Mechanism of Detumescence; The Psychic State in Pregnancy by Ellis, Havelock

With the onset of muscular action, which is mainly involuntary, even when it affects the voluntary muscles, detumescence proper begins to take place.

From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 5 Erotic Symbolism; The Mechanism of Detumescence; The Psychic State in Pregnancy by Ellis, Havelock

I am not acquainted with any precise observations on the blood-pressure in human subjects during detumescence, and there are obvious difficulties in the way of such observations.

From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 5 Erotic Symbolism; The Mechanism of Detumescence; The Psychic State in Pregnancy by Ellis, Havelock

High blood-pressure is one of the most marked features of the state of detumescence.

From Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 5 Erotic Symbolism; The Mechanism of Detumescence; The Psychic State in Pregnancy by Ellis, Havelock