kinesis

[ ki-nee-sis, kahy- ]

/ kɪˈni sɪs, kaɪ- /

Save This Word!

noun Physiology.

the movement of an organism in response to a stimulus, as light.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of kinesis

1900–05; <Greek kī́nēsis movement, equivalent to kīnē-, verbid stem of kīneîn to move + -sis-sis

Words nearby kinesis

-kinesia, kinesiatrics, kinesics, kinesiology, kinesioneurosis, kinesis, kinesitherapy, kinesthesia, kinesthesiometer, kinesthetic, kinesthetic sense

Other definitions for kinesis (2 of 2)

-kinesis

a combining form with the general sense “movement, activity,” used in the formation of compound words, often with the particular senses “reaction to a stimulus” (photokinesis), “movement without an apparent physical cause” (telekinesis), “activity within a cell” (karyokinesis).

Compare -kinesia.

Origin of -kinesis

<Greek -kīnēsis;see kinesis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use kinesis in a sentence

What figurations, what formulas, could describe the inexhaustible kinesis of those years?
The Svengali of Pop Art|Annie Cohen-Solal|May 13, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Joyce says something of the sort very differently, he is full of technical scholastic terms: "stasis, kinesis," etc.
Instigations|Ezra Pound
And the old word kinesis will be correctly given as iesis in corresponding modern letters.
Cratylus|Plato

British Dictionary definitions for kinesis

kinesis

/ (kɪˈniːsɪs, kaɪ-) /

noun

biology the nondirectional movement of an organism or cell in response to a stimulus, the rate of movement being dependent on the strength of the stimulus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Medical definitions for kinesis

kinesis

[ kə-nē′sĭs, kī- ]

n. pl. ki•ne•ses (-sēz′)

Motion or physical movement, especially movement that is induced by stimulation.