dystrophy

American  

[dis-truh-fee] / ˈdɪs trə fi /

Also dystrophia

noun

1. Medicine/Medical. faulty or inadequate nutrition or development.

2. Pathology. any of a number of disorders characterized by weakening, degeneration, or abnormal development of muscle.

3. Ecology. the state of being dystrophic.

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dystrophy British  

/ dɪsˈtrɒfɪk, ˈdɪstrəfɪ, dɪˈstrəʊfɪə /

noun

1. any of various bodily disorders, characterized by wasting of tissues See also muscular dystrophy

2. ecology a condition of lake water when it is too acidic and poor in oxygen to support life, resulting from excessive humus content

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Other Word Forms

• dystrophic adjective

Etymology

Origin of dystrophy

From the New Latin word dystrophia, dating back to 1885–90. See dys-, -trophy

Example Sentences

She works with George Baker, who has congenital muscular dystrophy and says Lauren acts as his "arms and legs in an office" while he runs The Disability Union, an organisation representing thousands of disabled people.

From BBC

Andy was born with retinal dystrophy, an inherited condition causing progressive vision loss, which eventually leads to tunnel vision and potentially blindness.

From BBC

Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a rare gene disorder that causes muscles in the body to break down over time, primarily affecting young boys.

From Barron's

The group said Khalid has limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, a genetic condition, and was on an "extremely dangerous" thirst strike.

From BBC

Examples include Huntington's disease, myotonic dystrophy, and certain forms of ALS.

From Science Daily