atrophy

1 of 2

noun

at·​ro·​phy ˈa-trə-fē 

plural atrophies

1

: decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue

atrophy of muscles

also : arrested development or loss of a part or organ incidental to the normal development or life of an animal or plant

2

: a wasting away or progressive decline

It was not a solitude of atrophy, of negation, but of perpetual flowering.

—Willa Cather

an atrophy of imagination

atrophic

(ˌ)ā-ˈtrō-fik 

adjective

atrophy

2 of 2

verb

at·​ro·​phy ˈa-trə-fē  -ˌfī 

atrophied; atrophying; atrophies

transitive + intransitive

: to waste away (as from disease or disuse) : to undergo atrophy

Extended periods of weightlessness resulted in body fluids pooling in the upper torso, causing changes in how the heart pumped blood. In addition, muscles began to atrophy, bones lost calcium and mass …

—Warren E. Leary

Because of an incomplete spine, only one nerve serviced her legs, causing them to atrophy.

—Ada Brownell

Communion with nature strengthens both body and soul; isolation from nature causes both to atrophy.

—Mark Purcell

also : to cause (something) to waste away or undergo atrophy

When reform becomes too theological, it atrophies some forces even while it galvanizes others.

—John C. Culver

see also atrophied

Did you know?

What Can atrophy?

From its literal Greek roots, atrophy would mean basically "lack of nourishment". Although the English word doesn't usually imply any lack of food, it always refers to a wasting away. Those who have been bedridden for a period of time will notice that their muscles have atrophied. And muscular atrophy is a frequent result of such diseases as cancer and AIDS. We also use atrophy in a much more general sense. After being out of work a few years, you may find your work skills have atrophied; someone who's been living an isolated life may discover the same thing about his or her social skills; and a democracy can atrophy when its citizens cease to pay attention to how they're being governed.

Examples of atrophy in a Sentence

Noun

The doctor is concerned about possible atrophy of the shoulder muscles.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

It is approved by the Food and Drug Administration only as a vaginal insert to treat vulvar and vaginal atrophy. —Yeganeh Torbati, Washington Post, 30 July 2023

Others are dementia with Lewy bodies, multiple system atrophy and pure autonomic failure. —The Conversation, oregonlive, 29 May 2023

Extensive physical therapy and rehab will follow, since the injury and ensuing surgery will lead to muscle atrophy and a loss of strength. —David K. Li, NBC News, 12 Sep. 2023

In the United States today, pregnant women can find out whether their unborn child has cystic fibrosis, fragile X syndrome, spinal muscular atrophy, or many other conditions. —Krithika Varagur, Harper's Magazine, 10 July 2023

The result has been widespread atrophy in this society of refugees. —Scott Peterson, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Sep. 2023

As our muscles atrophy with age, consider upping your strength and resistance training. —Byalexa Mikhail, Fortune Well, 5 Sep. 2023

Zolgensma offsets the degeneration of nerve cells in children with spinal muscular atrophy. —WIRED, 4 Sep. 2023

Veterinarians then realized the birds’ efforts to free themselves from the tar led to capture myopathy — muscle damage and atrophy caused by a stressed animal’s extreme struggling. —Vanessa Arredondo, Los Angeles Times, 17 Aug. 2023

Verb

The overall effect was that although the United States remained the world’s preeminent power, some of its most vital muscles atrophied. —Jake Sullivan, Foreign Affairs, 24 Oct. 2023

The defense-industrial base that was once the foundation of American power has atrophied in ways that would astonish previous generations. —The Editors, National Review, 17 Oct. 2023

Starting with the collapse of the Terra Luna stablecoin last May and compounded by the subsequent failures of hedge fund Three Arrows Capital, crypto lender Celsius, and crypto exchange FTX, the industry has atrophied. —WIRED, 27 Sep. 2023

Between 2003 and 2016, according to the authors of the Rand report, training and readiness for Army field artillery atrophied as the service reduced its active field artillery battalions by nearly half, from 96 to 50. —Hope Hodge Seck, Popular Mechanics, 21 Aug. 2023

Its industrial and technological strength has atrophied, its vital supply chains are vulnerable, its alliances are frayed, and its government is hollowed out. —Hillary Rodham Clinton, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2020

The system then atrophied, with the army knocked out of its complacency once again by setbacks experienced during the Crimean War. —Huw J. Davies, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2023

Either the institutional mechanisms that should spare the incumbent president this embarrassment have atrophied, or a sizable minority of Democrats no longer responds to them. —Noah Rothman, National Review, 1 May 2023

Part of the cultural fabric of the city for more than a century, the tram system has been allowed to atrophy for a lack of riders. —Ahmer Khan, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Apr. 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

Late Latin atrophia, from Greek, from atrophos ill fed, from a- + trephein to nourish

First Known Use

Noun

1601, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1863, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

atrophy

1 of 2 noun

at·​ro·​phy

ˈa-trə-fē

plural atrophies

: decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue

atrophy

2 of 2 verb

atrophied; atrophying

: to undergo atrophy

Medical Definition

atrophy

1 of 2 noun

at·​ro·​phy ˈa-trə-fē 

plural atrophies

: decrease in size or wasting away of a body part or tissue

also : arrested development or loss of a part or organ incidental to the normal development or life of an animal or plant

atrophy

2 of 2 verb

ˈa-trə-fē  -ˌfī 

atrophied; atrophying

intransitive verb

: to undergo atrophy

the inactive muscles atrophied

transitive verb

: to cause to undergo atrophy

disuse atrophied the arm