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Synonyms

tonus

American  
[toh-nuhs] / ˈtoʊ nəs /

noun

Physiology.
  1. a normal state of continuous slight tension in muscle tissue that facilitates its response to stimulation.


tonus British  
/ ˈtəʊnəs /

noun

  1. physiol the normal tension of a muscle at rest; tone

"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

Etymology

Origin of tonus

1875–80; < New Latin, special use of Latin tonus < Greek tónos tone

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In the medical journal Acta Pædiatrica, Bodegård described the typical patient as “totally passive, immobile, lacks tonus, withdrawn, mute, unable to eat and drink, incontinent and not reacting to physical stimuli or pain.”

From The New Yorker • Mar. 27, 2017

Physiologists, especially those interested in the nervous system," read Dr. Henderson's proxy, "understand fully that posture, particularly the ability to stand erect, or to hold up one's head, is dependent upon tonus.

From Time Magazine Archive

The massaging action of the abdominal muscles needed to keep the internal organs in a state of tonus is provided by the leg thrash, which is controlled by muscles originating on the pelvis.

From Time Magazine Archive

"The full practical significance of tonus has not yet, I believe, been realized either by physiologists or clinicians."

From Time Magazine Archive

Accentus tonus est per quē fit syllaba quevis Cognita: quādo acui debet, vel qū gravari Accentus triplex; fit acutus vel gravis, inde Est circūflexus: qui nunc fit rarus in vsu.

From Schools, School-Books and Schoolmasters by Hazlitt, W. Carew

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