dystonia

noun

dys·​to·​nia dis-ˈtō-nē-ə 

: any of various conditions (such as Parkinson's disease and torticollis) characterized by abnormalities of movement and muscle tone

dystonic

dis-ˈtä-nik 

adjective

Examples of dystonia in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s dystonia, which is a fancy medical term for twisting repetitive muscle contractions that are uncontrollable and often painful. —Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025

It is considered a type of focal dystonia—a neurological condition that causes muscle spasms in a specific part of the body. —Kate Nalepinski, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 May 2025

The most common dystonia is cervical dystonia, which affects the neck and can cause pulling of the head to one side. —Indu Subramanian, The Conversation, 1 May 2025

Spasmodic dysphonia is classified as a focal dystonia, a dystonia that affects one body part – the vocal folds, in the case of spasmodic dysphonia. —Indu Subramanian, The Conversation, 1 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from German Dystonie, from dys- dys- + -tonie -tonia

Note: Though dystonia appears in polyglot medial lexica in the 19th century, the use of the word to refer to a specific condition probably dates from the German neurologist Hermann Oppenheim's application of Dystonie to the condition he named dystonia musculorum deformans in the article "Über eine eigenartige Krampfkrankheit des kindlichen und jugendlichen Alters (dysbasia lordotica progressiva, dystonia musculorum deformans)," Neurologisches Centralblatt, Band 30 (1911), pp. 1090-1107.

First Known Use

1860, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for dystonia

• aphonia
• chelonia
• cladonia
• colonia
• dysphonia
• harmonia
• koinonia
• oogonia
• polonia
• sinfonia
• zirconia
• catatonia

Medical Definition

dystonia

noun

dys·​to·​nia dis-ˈtō-nē-ə 

: a state of disordered tonicity of tissues (as of muscle)

dystonic

-ˈtän-ik 

adjective