Dictionary.com
definitions
  • synonyms

tonicity

[toh-nis-i-tee]
See more synonyms for tonicity on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. tonic quality or condition.
  2. the state of bodily tone.
  3. Physiology. the normal elastic tension of living muscles, arteries, etc., by which the tone of the system is maintained.
Show More

Origin of tonicity

First recorded in 1815–25; tonic + -ity
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for tonicity

Historical Examples

  • The benefit derived from these various attempts to increase the tonicity of the gastric muscle is not very apparent.

    A System of Practical Medicine By American Authors, Vol. II

    Various

  • His sexual organs had completely regained their tonicity and without doubt, their virility.

  • On the other hand, relaxation, while it may remove restraint, makes artistic control and tonicity impossible.

  • A given plant-tissue may exist in widely different conditions of tonicity.

    Life Movements in Plants

    Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

  • There are innumerable grades of tonicity between the optimum and minimum.

    Life Movements in Plants

    Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose

British Dictionary definitions for tonicity

tonicity

noun
  1. the state, condition, or quality of being tonic
  2. physiol another name for tonus
Show More
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
tonicity in Medicine

tonicity

(tō-nĭs′ĭ-tē)
n.
  1. Normal firmness or functional readiness in body tissues or organs.
  2. The sustained partial contraction of resting or relaxed muscles.
  3. The osmotic pressure or tension of a solution, usually relative to that of blood.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.