tetanic

American  

[tuh-tan-ik] / təˈtæn ɪk /

Sometimes tetanical

adjective

1. Pathology. pertaining to, of the nature of, or characterized by tetanus.

2. Medicine/Medical. noting a medicine or poison that can cause tetanic spasms of the muscles.

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tetanic British  

/ təˈtænɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or producing tetanus or the spasms of tetanus

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noun

1. a tetanic drug or agent

Other Word Forms

• posttetanic adjective
• subtetanic adjective
• subtetanical adjective
• tetanically adverb

Etymology

Origin of tetanic

1720–30; < Latin tetanicus < Greek tetanikós, equivalent to tétan ( os ) spasm, tetanus + -ikos -ic

Example Sentences

Trismus, tris′mus, n. tetanic spasm of the muscles of mastication, lockjaw.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 4 of 4: S-Z and supplements) by Various

Dizziness, faintness, and blindness, the skin clammy, cold, and bluish or livid; temperature low with dreadful tetanic convulsions, and finally stupor.

From Scouting For Girls, Official Handbook of the Girl Scouts by Bacon, Josephine Dodge Daskam

Dizziness, faintness, and blindness, the skin clammy, cold, and bluish, or livid; temperature low with dreadful tetanic convulsions, and finally stupor.

From Boy Scouts Handbook The First Edition, 1911 by Boy Scouts of America

But he could not speak at once; his teeth closed with tetanic force upon each other.

From Between the Dark and the Daylight by Howells, William Dean

A dose of one grain has produced tetanic spasms.

From The Opium Habit by Day, Horace B.