Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

tetany

play
noun tet·a·ny \ˈte-tə-nē, ˈtet-nē\

Definition of tetany

  1. :  a condition of physiological calcium imbalance marked by tonic spasm of muscles and often associated with deficient parathyroid secretion

Explore M-W

alt-596f95fe451e7
'Drought' & 'Drouth' Take Us Back In Time
alt-59760690a61d7
Trending: Trump Tweets, We Define: 'Beleaguered'
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
image386126722
Words That Come From the Dinner Table

Origin and Etymology of tetany

International Scientific Vocabulary, from Latin tetanus

Medical Dictionary

tetany

play
noun tet·a·ny \ˈtet-ən-ē, ˈtet-nē\

Medical Definition of tetany

plural

tetanies

  1. :  a condition of physiological calcium imbalance that is marked by intermittent tonic spasm of the voluntary muscles and is associated with deficiencies of parathyroid secretion or other disturbances (as vitamin D deficiency)

Learn More about tetany

  1. Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about tetany

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up tetany? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

haphazard

play

marked by lack of plan or order

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. beleaguer 'Being subjected to constant or repeated trouble or harassment'

  2. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  3. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  4. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

  5. calumny 'An untrue statement that is made to damage someone's reputation'

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

tetany

Test Your Vocabulary

The Emoji Quiz

  • emoji-the-quiz
  • What phase of the moon is this: 🌖 ?
True or False

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ
Word Winder's CrossWinder

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-596f95fe451e7
'Drought' & 'Drouth' Take Us Back In Time

A variant spelling with a long history

alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail

Give them your best

image386126722
Words and Phrases That Come from the Dinner Table

Fill your plate with these surprising food words

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

A disinvited guest is an uninvited problem

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
True or False
True or False?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Take the quiz
Word Winder's CrossWinder
Word Winder's CrossWinder

A game of winding words.

Play the game