sclerosis

noun scle·ro·sis \ sklə-ˈrō-səs \

Updated on: 14 May 2018

1 : pathological hardening of tissue especially from overgrowth of fibrous tissue or increase in interstitial tissue; also : a disease characterized by sclerosis

2 : an inability or reluctance to adapt or compromise

political sclerosis

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Recent Examples of sclerosis from the Web

Lebanon has long been beset by corruption and political sclerosis, and the election results were widely expected.

— louisa loveluck, Washington Post, "As Lebanon chooses a new parliament, Hezbollah gains power and prime minister’s fortunes fade," 7 May 2018
So there is a kind of sclerosis of the economy at the top and fewer and fewer corporate structures controlling more and more.

— rebecca traister, Daily Intelligencer, "How Can Democrats Connect ‘Identity Politics’ to Economics?," 1 Feb. 2018
Compounding the problem is the loss of its monopoly on Copaxone, a multiple-sclerosis drug that at one point generated half of Teva’s profits.

— jonathan ferziger, Bloomberg.com, "Netanyahu Vows to Help Buffer Teva Workers From Turnaround Plan," 17 Dec. 2017
In a twist, Teva is also struggling because its leading brand-name drug, the multiple-sclerosis treatment Copaxone, now has generic competition.

— chad bray, New York Times, "Teva Pharmaceuticals to Cut 25% of Jobs in Huge Reshaping," 14 Dec. 2017
Its multiple-sclerosis treatment Ocrevus, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in March, is quickly gaining traction.

— noemie bisserbe, WSJ, "Roche’s Immunotherapy Drug Tecentriq Extended Patients’ Lives in Study," 7 Dec. 2017
The combined company would have about $2 billion in yearly revenue and a pipeline including biosimilar versions of the Neupogen and Neulasta cancer-care treatments and of the Copaxone multiple-sclerosis drug, according to the companies.

— jonathan d. rockoff and dana cimilluca, WSJ, "Impax Laboratories and Amneal Pharmaceuticals Agree to Merge," 17 Oct. 2017
This week, shares of Mylan surged after the agency approved its generic application to produce Copaxone, a multiple-sclerosis drug.

— charley grant, WSJ, "The Beltway Factor Drug Shareholders Must Take Seriously," 6 Oct. 2017
Teva lost a patent-infringement case in February to protect its best-selling, branded multiple-sclerosis drug Copaxone from competition by drug manufacturers who will make lower-cost, chemically-equivalent generic versions to sell.

— linda loyd, Philly.com, "Teva sells its specialty women's health business," 18 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sclerosis.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of sclerosis

Middle English sclirosis tumor, from Medieval Latin, from Greek sklērōsis hardening, from sklēroun to harden, from sklēros

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1846

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Other Medicine Terms

analgesia, angina, diabetes, hepatitis, homeopathy, logorrhea, palliate, pandemic

SCLEROSIS Defined for English Language Learners

sclerosis

noun

medical : a disease in which soft parts inside the body (such as arteries or muscles) become hard

Medical Dictionary

sclerosis

noun scle·ro·sis \ sklə-ˈrō-səs \

plural scleroses play \-ˌsēz\

1 : a pathological condition in which a tissue has become hard and which is produced by overgrowth of fibrous tissue and other changes (as in arteriosclerosis) or by increase in interstitial tissue and other changes (as in multiple sclerosis) — called also hardening

2 : any of various diseases characterized by sclerosis —usually used in combination — see arteriosclerosis, multiple sclerosis, myelosclerosis

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See words that rhyme with sclerosis Spanish Central: Translation of sclerosis Nglish: Translation of sclerosis for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of sclerosis for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about sclerosis

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