scoliosis

noun

sco·​li·​o·​sis ˌskō-lē-ˈō-səs 

plural scolioses ˌskō-lē-ˈō-ˌsēz 

: a lateral curvature of the spine

scoliotic

ˌskō-lē-ˈä-tik 

adjective

Examples of scoliosis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Born in Taiwan to a Chinese-Filipino father and an English-Scottish mother, Chang, 54, initially sought out to be a ballet dancer, but at the age of 13, she was told to wear a back brace for scoliosis, which abruptly stopped that career move. —Jeff Conway, Forbes.com, 16 Jan. 2026

This luxury mattress style is geared for sleepers with chronic joint and back pain caused by sciatica, arthritis, herniated disc, and scoliosis. —Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 7 Jan. 2026

Millions of children have scoliosis. —Kimberly Zapata, Parents, 4 Jan. 2026

Anne Marie Hukriede has three times appealed her insurance company’s decision not to cover her daughter’s scoliosis surgery. —Kate Snow, NBC news, 4 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from New Latin scoliōsis, borrowed from Greek skolíōsis "slanted or crooked state, curvature of the spine," from skoliō-, variant stem of skolióomai, skolioûsthai "to be bent or crooked" (verbal derivative of skoliós "bent, crooked, askew") + -sis -sis — more at isosceles

First Known Use

circa 1706, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for scoliosis

• acanthosis
• acidosis
• alkalosis
• amaurosis
• ankylosis
• asbestosis
• brucellosis
• cyanosis
• dermatosis
• diagnosis
• ecchymosis
• exostosis

Kids Definition

scoliosis

noun

sco·​li·​o·​sis ˌskō-lē-ˈō-səs 

plural scolioses -ˌsēz 

: an abnormal sideways curving of the spine

Medical Definition

scoliosis

noun

sco·​li·​o·​sis ˌskō-lē-ˈō-səs 

plural scolioses -ˌsēz 

: a lateral curvature of the spine compare kyphosis, lordosis sense 2

scoliotic

-ˈät-ik 

adjective