Atrophy

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle)
• HYPHEN: at=ro=phy

CIDE DICTIONARY

Atrophy, n. [L. atrophia, Gr. ; 'a priv. + to nourish: cf. F. atrophie.].

 A wasting away from lack of nourishment; diminution in bulk or slow emaciation of the body or of any part.  Milton.  [1913 Webster]

Atrophy, v. t. 

 To cause to waste away or become abortive; to starve or weaken.  [1913 Webster]

Atrophy, v. i. 

 To waste away; to dwindle.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

Atrophy, v. & n.
--v. (-ies, -ied)
1 intr. waste away through undernourishment, ageing, or lack of use; become emaciated.
2 tr. cause to atrophy.
--n. the process of atrophying; emaciation.

Etymology

F atrophie or LL atrophia f. Gk f. a- not + trophe food

THESAURUS

Atrophy

Sanforizing, abnormality, abscess, acute disease, affection, affliction, ague, ailment, allergic disease, allergy, anemia, ankylosis, anoxia, apnea, asphyxiation, asthma, ataxia, attenuation, backache, bacterial disease, birth defect, bleeding, blennorhea, blight, cachexia, cachexy, cardiovascular disease, chill, chills, chronic disease, circulatory disease, colic, complaint, complication, condition, congenital defect, constipation, consume, consume away, consumption, convulsion, coughing, cyanosis, decadence, declension, declination, decline, defect, deficiency disease, deformity, degeneracy, degeneration, degenerative disease, devolution, diarrhea, disability, disease, disorder, distemper, dizziness, downfall, downgrade, dribble away, dropsy, drying, drying up, dysentery, dyspepsia, dyspnea, edema, emaceration, emaciate, emaciation, endemic, endemic disease, endocrine disease, epidemic disease, fainting, fatigue, fever, fibrillation, flux, functional disease, fungus disease, gastrointestinal disease, genetic disease, growth, handicap, hemorrhage, hereditary disease, high blood pressure, hydrops, hypertension, hypotension, iatrogenic disease, icterus, illness, indigestion, indisposition, infectious disease, infirmity, inflammation, insomnia, itching, jaundice, labored breathing, low blood pressure, lumbago, malady, malaise, marasmus, marcescence, morbidity, morbus, muscular disease, nasal discharge, nausea, necrosis, neurological disease, nutritional disease, occupational disease, organic disease, pain, pandemic disease, paralysis, parching, pathological condition, pathology, pine away, plant disease, preshrinkage, protozoan disease, pruritus, psychosomatic disease, rash, respiratory disease, rheum, rockiness, run to seed, run to waste, sclerosis, searing, secondary disease, seediness, seizure, shock, shrinkage, shrinking, shriveling, sickishness, sickness, signs, skin eruption, sneezing, sore, spasm, symptomatology, symptomology, symptoms, syndrome, tabes, tachycardia, the pip, thinning, tumor, upset stomach, urogenital disease, vertigo, virus disease, vomiting, wastage, waste, waste away, wasting, wasting disease, wilting, wither away, withering, worm disease

ROGET THESAURUS

Atrophy

Disease

N disease, illness, sickness, ailing, all the ills that flesh is heir to, morbidity, morbosity, infirmity, ailment, indisposition, complaint, disorder, malady, distemper, distemperature, visitation, attack, seizure, stroke, fit, delicacy, loss of health, invalidation, cachexy, cachexia, atrophy, marasmus, indigestion, dyspepsia, decay, decline, consumption, palsy, paralysis, prostration, taint, pollution, infection, sepsis, septicity, infestation, epidemic, pandemic, endemic, epizootic, murrain, plague, pestilence, pox, sore, ulcer, abscess, fester, boil, pimple, wen, carbuncle, gathering, imposthume, peccant humor, issue, rot, canker, cold sore, fever sore, cancer, carcinoma, leukemia, neoplastic disease, malignancy, tumor, caries, mortification, corruption, gangrene, sphacelus, sphacelation, leprosy, eruption, rash, breaking out, fever, temperature, calenture, inflammation, ague, angina pectoris, appendicitis, Asiatic cholera, spasmodic cholera, biliary calculus, kidney stone, black death, bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, blennorrhagia, blennorrhoea, blood poisoning, bloodstroke, bloody flux, brash, breakbone fever, dengue fever, malarial fever, Q-fever, heart attack, cardiac arrest, cardiomyopathy, hardening of the arteries, arteriosclerosis, atherosclerosis, bronchocele, canker rash, cardialgia, carditis, endocarditis, cholera, asphyxia, chlorosis, chorea, cynanche, dartre, enanthem, enanthema, erysipelas, exanthem, exanthema, gallstone, goiter, gonorrhea, green sickness, grip, grippe, influenza, flu, hay fever, heartburn, heaves, rupture, hernia, hemorrhoids, piles, herpes, itch, king's evil, lockjaw, measles, mumps, polio, necrosis, pertussis, phthisis, pneumonia, psora, pyaemia, pyrosis, quinsy, rachitis, ringworm, rubeola, St. Vitus's dance, scabies, scarlatina, scarlet fever, scrofula, seasickness, struma, syntexis, tetanus, tetter, tonsillitis, tonsilitis, tracheocele, trachoma, trismus, varicella, varicosis, variola, water qualm, whooping cough, yellow fever, yellow jack, fatal disease, dangerous illness, galloping consumption, churchyard cough, general breaking up, break up of the system, idiocy insanity, martyr to disease, cripple, the halt the lame and the blind, valetudinary, valetudinarian, invalid, patient, case, sickroom, sick- chamber, pathology, etiology, nosology, anthrax, bighead, blackleg, blackquarter, cattle plague, glanders, mange, scrapie, milk sickness, heartworm, feline leukemia, roundworms, quarter-evil, quarter-ill, rinderpest, virus, bacterium, bacteria, DNA virus, RNA virus, rhinovirus, rhabdovirus, picornavirus, herpesvirus, cytomegalovirus, CMV, human immunodefficiency virus, HIV, diseased, ailing, ill, ill of, taken ill, seized with, indisposed, unwell, sick, squeamish, poorly, seedy, affected with illness, afflicted with illness, laid up, confined, bedridden, invalided, in hospital, on the sick list, out of health, out of sorts, under the weather, valetudinary, unsound, unhealthy, sickly, morbid, morbose, healthless, infirm, chlorotic, unbraced, drooping, flagging, lame, crippled, halting, morbid, tainted, vitiated, peccant, contaminated, poisoned, tabid, mangy, leprous, cankered, rotten, rotten to the core, rotten at the core, withered, palsied, paralytic, dyspeptic, luetic, pneumonic, pulmonic, phthisic, rachitic, syntectic, syntectical, tabetic, varicose, touched in the wind, broken-winded, spavined, gasping, hors de combat, weakly, weakened, decrepit, decayed, incurable, in declining health, cranky, in a bad way, in danger, prostrate, moribund, morbific epidemic, endemic, zymotic.

Deterioration

N deterioration, debasement, wane, ebb, recession, retrogradation, decrease, degeneracy, degeneration, degenerateness, degradation, depravation, depravement, devolution, depravity, demoralization, retrogression, masochism, impairment, inquination, injury, damage, loss, detriment, delaceration, outrage, havoc, inroad, ravage, scath, perversion, prostitution, vitiation, discoloration, oxidation, pollution, defoedation, poisoning, venenation, leaven, contamination, canker, corruption, adulteration, alloy, decline, declension, declination, decadence, decadency, falling off, caducity, decrepitude, decay, dilapidation, ravages of time, wear and tear, corrosion, erosion, moldiness, rottenness, moth and rust, dry rot, blight, marasmus, atrophy, collapse, disorganization, delabrement (destruction), aphid, Aphis, plant louse, puceron, vinefretter, vinegrub, wreck, mere wreck, honeycomb, magni nominis umbra, jade, plug, rackabones, skate, tackey, tacky, have seen better days, deteriorate, degenerate, fall off, wane, ebb, retrograde, decline, droop, go down, go downhill, go from bad to worse, go farther and fare worse, jump out of the frying pan into the fire, run to seed, go to seed, run to waste swale, sweal, lapse, be the worse for, sphacelate: break, break down, spring a leak, crack, start, shrivel, fade, go off, wither, molder, rot, rankle, decay, go bad, go to decay, fall into decay, fall into the sear and yellow leaf, rust, crumble, shake, totter, totter to its fall, perish, die, deteriorate, weaken, put back, set back, taint, infect, contaminate, poison, empoison, envenom, canker, corrupt, exulcerate, pollute, vitiate, inquinate, debase, embase, denaturalize, denature, leaven, deflower, debauch, defile, deprave, degrade, ulcerate, stain, discolor, alloy, adulterate, sophisticate, tamper with, prejudice, pervert, prostitute, demoralize, brutalize, render vicious, embitter, acerbate, exacerbate, aggravate, injure, impair, labefy, damage, harm, hurt, shend, scath, scathe, spoil, mar, despoil, dilapidate, waste, overrun, ravage, pillage, wound, stab, pierce, maim, lame, surbate, cripple, hough, hamstring, hit between wind and water, scotch, mangle, mutilate, disfigure, blemish, deface, warp, blight, rot, corrode, erode, wear away, wear out, gnaw, gnaw at the root of, sap, mine, undermine, shake, sap the foundations of, break up, disorganize, dismantle, dismast, destroy, damnify, do one's worst, knock down, deal a blow to, play havoc with, play sad havoc with, play the mischief with, play the deuce with, play the very devil with, play havoc among, play sad havoc among, play the mischief among, play the deuce among, play the very devil among, decimate, Adj, unimproved &c (improve), deteriorated, altered, altered for the worse, injured, sprung, withering, spoiling, on the wane, on the decline, tabid, degenerate, marescent, worse, the worse for, all the worse for, out of repair, out of tune, imperfect, the worse for wear, battered, weathered, weather-beaten, stale, passe, shaken, dilapidated, frayed, faded, wilted, shabby, secondhand, threadbare, worn, worn to a thread, worn to a shadow, worn to the stump, worn to rags, reduced, reduced to a skeleton, far gone, tacky, decayed, moth-eaten, worm-eaten, mildewed, rusty, moldy, spotted, seedy, time-worn, moss-grown, discolored, effete, wasted, crumbling, moldering, rotten, cankered, blighted, tainted, depraved, decrepid, decrepit, broke, busted, broken, out of commission, hors de combat, out of action, broken down, done, done for, done up, worn out, used up, finished, beyond saving, fit for the dust hole, fit for the wastepaper basket, past work, at a low ebb, in a bad way, on one's last legs, undermined, deciduous, nodding to its fall, tottering, past cure, fatigued, retrograde, deleterious, out of the frying pan into the fire, agrescit medendo, what a falling off was there!.

Contraction

N contraction, reduction, diminution, decrease of size, defalcation, decrement, lessening, shrinking, compaction, tabes, collapse, emaciation, attenuation, tabefaction, consumption, marasmus, atrophy, systole, neck, hourglass, condensation, compression, compactness, compendium, squeezing, strangulation, corrugation, astringency, astringents, sclerotics, contractility, compressibility, coarctation, inferiority in size, contracting, astringent, shrunk, contracted, strangulated, tabid, wizened, stunted, waning, neap, compact, unexpanded &c (expand), contractile, compressible, smaller &c (small).