atrophy means A reduction in the functionality of an organ caused by disease, injury or lack of use. It carries an Arena rating of 1637, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, atrophy ranks #139 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #244 of 17,134 for Most Malleable Words, #500 of 17,143 for Best Fossil-Poetry Words, #818 of 17,126 for Most Elegant Words.
atrophy is pronounced /ˈæt.ɹə.fi/.
Why “atrophy” is a great word
A wasting away or reduction in size and function of a body part or tissue, typically from disease or lack of use. From French atrophie, from Latin atrophia, from Ancient Greek ἀτροφία (atrophía, 'a wasting away'), from ἄτροφος (átrophos, 'ill-fed'), from ἀ- (a-, 'not') + τροφή (trophḗ, 'nourishment'). Unlike hypertrophy, its precise cellular opposite of growth, or the general act to strengthen, atrophy describes a pathological diminishment through neglect. It is the leg muscle grown soft and stringy after months in a cast, the forgotten language whose last fluent speaker has died, the skill—once second nature—that now feels alien and clumsy in the hands; it is the body's mute surrender to absence, where what is not used is unmade, cell by starved cell.
Etymology
Borrowed from French atrophie, from Latin atrophia, from Ancient Greek ἀτροφία (atrophía, “a wasting away”), from ἄτροφος (átrophos, “ill-fed, un-nourished”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + τροφή (trophḗ, “nourishment”), from τρέφω (tréphō, “to fatten”). Equivalent to a- + -trophy.
noun
- A reduction in the functionality of an organ caused by disease, injury or lack of use.
verb
- To wither or waste away.e.g.“Boy. I love summer vacation. I can feel my brain beginning to atrophy already.” — 1987 June 13, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic):
- To cause to waste away or become abortive; to starve or weaken.e.g.“Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion” — 2001, “Schism” (04:34-05:10 from the start), in Lateralus, performed by Tool:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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