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atrophy

Pronunciation: /ˈatrəfi/

Translate atrophy | into Italian

Definition of atrophy

verb (atrophies, atrophying, atrophied)

[no object]

1(of body tissue or an organ) waste away, especially as a result of the degeneration of cells, or become vestigial during evolution:the calf muscles will atrophy (as adjective atrophied)in some beetles, the hindwings are atrophied

2gradually decline in effectiveness or vigour due to underuse or neglect:the imagination can atrophy from lack of use

noun

[mass noun]

the process of atrophying or state of having atrophied:gastric atrophy extensive TV viewing may lead to atrophy of children’s imaginations

Derivatives

atrophic

Origin:

late 16th century: from French atrophier (verb), atrophie (noun), from late Latin atrophia, from Greek, 'lack of food', from a- 'without' + trophē 'food'

atrophy in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of atrophy in the US English dictionary

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