atrophy.

A reduction in the size or substance of tissue or an organ, often through disease, disuse, or inadequate nourishment.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• muscle atrophy
• progressive atrophy
• disuse atrophy

On the page

Muscle atrophy had narrowed the unused limb.

The examination recorded progressive atrophy around the damaged nerve.

Long confinement led to atrophy that the loose clothes concealed.

Usage notes

Primary category: horror. Clinical; wasting differs from temporary weakness or dehydration. Figurative use describes capacity declining through neglect. Also used as a verb for the corresponding process. Usually uncountable; technical count plural: atrophies. Derived family: atrophic (adjective). Secondary same-lexeme verb [base, third-person, past, past participle, -ing]: atrophy, atrophies, atrophied, atrophied, atrophying.