Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

tympanic

American  
[tim-pan-ik] / tɪmˈpæn ɪk /

adjective

  1. pertaining or belonging to a tympanum.


tympanic British  
/ tɪmˈpænɪk /

adjective

  1. anatomy architect of, relating to, or having a tympanum

  2. of, relating to, or resembling a drumhead

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of tympanic

First recorded in 1800–10; tympan(um) + -ic

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.

The higher unsprung mass also makes the ride quality a bit more tympanic than otherwise.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

"The ear drum, or tympanic membrane, is a thin, flat piece of tissue that stretches across the ear canal," said Hoberman.

From Science Daily • Mar. 4, 2024

Presley, R. Lizards, mammals and the primitive tetrapod tympanic membrane.

From Nature • Nov. 12, 2017

When a microphone was placed in its ear, everyone could hear a ringing tone—the result, it turned out, of an oversensitive tympanic membrane.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 30, 2015

Skull: Interparietal wedge-shaped as opposed to roughly quadrangular; lambdoidal eminence more of a crest than a ridge; tympanic bullae smaller; jugals more nearly straight; zygomatic arches more nearly rectangular.

From The Pocket Gophers (Genus Thomomys) of Utah, Vol. 1 No. 1 Kansas University Publications. by Durrant, Stephen D.