parasympathetic
pertaining to that part of the autonomic nervous system consisting of nerves and ganglia that arise from the cranial and sacral regions and function in opposition to the sympathetic system, as in inhibiting heartbeat or contracting the pupil of the eye.
Origin of parasympathetic
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use parasympathetic in a sentence
The extra weight and pressure on the body helps trigger your parasympathetic nervous system, which lowers your heart rate and sort of switches your fight-or-flight response off.
Gifts for the most stressed-out people you know | Rachel Feltman and Amanda Reed | November 22, 2022 | Popular-ScienceNormally, the parasympathetic nervous system, which acts like a break on the fight-or-flight response, should kick into gear, returning the body to homeostasis.
Extreme wildfires are taking a toll on the mental health of firefighters | Isobel Whitcomb | December 20, 2021 | Popular-ScienceDispensing compassion can also activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which produces a calming effect.
How Do You Cure a Compassion Crisis? (Ep. 444) | Stephen J. Dubner | December 17, 2020 | FreakonomicsIt activates your parasympathetic nervous system and tells your body to relax and recuperate.
British Dictionary definitions for parasympathetic
/ (ˌpærəˌsɪmpəˈθɛtɪk) /
anatomy physiol of or relating to the division of the autonomic nervous system that acts in opposition to the sympathetic system by slowing the heartbeat, constricting the bronchi of the lungs, stimulating the smooth muscles of the digestive tract, etc: Compare sympathetic (def. 4)
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
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