tetanic

[ tuh-tan-ik ]

/ təˈtæn ɪk /

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adjective

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

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

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Sometimes te·tan·i·cal .

Origin of tetanic

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

OTHER WORDS FROM tetanic

te·tan·i·cal·ly, adverbpost·te·tan·ic, adjectivesub·te·tan·ic, adjectivesub·te·tan·i·cal, adjective

Words nearby tetanic

testudinal, testudinate, testudo, testy, Tet, tetanic, tetanize, tetanus, tetanus toxoid, tetany, tetartohedral

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tetanic in a sentence

In every case an immunizing dose of anti-tetanic serum should be given.
Lameness of the Horse|John Victor Lacroix
The universal practice now is to inoculate with anti-tetanic serum just as soon as possible after a wound has been received.
Training for the Trenches|Leslie Vickers
Injury of the brain causes, as in higher animals, tetanic spasms and involuntary reflex movements, followed by stupefaction.
Animal Intelligence|George J. Romanes
Tetanic and general convulsions are produced; and the immediate cause of death is a spasm of the muscles of respiration.
The Action of Medicines in the System|Frederick William Headland

In two cases which we witnessed of individuals poisoned by strychnine, similar tetanic phenomena were observed.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 62, No. 383, September 1847|Various

British Dictionary definitions for tetanic

tetanic

/ (təˈtænɪk) /

adjective

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

noun

a tetanic drug or agent

Derived forms of tetanic

tetanically, adverb

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