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Definitions

atrophy

[a-truh-fee] / ˈæ trə fi /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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Jane Campbell, a peer in the House of Lords upper chamber, struggles to speak naturally due to spinal muscular atrophy, a condition that worsens over time.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

Yet if human folly predates the decline of reading, the atrophy of this splendid activity is no less lamentable.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

That limitation has made it much harder to study serious diseases involving the brain stem, including spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 21, 2026

One reason employers are hesitant to hire those who have been out of the workforce for a prolonged period of time is that they believe skills atrophy.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026

He massaged Shin’s arms and legs so that his muscles would not atrophy.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

Like any skill, it atrophies when we outsource the work.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

NBCUniversal is cutting “Access Hollywood” and several other of its daytime talk shows, effectively ending its first run syndication business as daytime television atrophies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026

"When you get machines thinking for you, your brain just atrophies."

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2025

As we age, our brain gradually atrophies, losing nerve cells and connections and this can lead to a decline in brain function.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 6, 2024

When he rides in a motor-car instead of walking she atrophies the muscles of his legs, hangs a weight of fat around his middle, and labels him "out of the running."

From Keeping Fit All the Way by Walter Camp

John’s left arm had atrophied, his hand now basically a claw, and two of his fingers were numb.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Global trade boomed and the U.S. economy led the growth, even as U.S. shipbuilding atrophied and the Navy dropped from 7,000 ships at the close of World War II to around 300 today.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026

Any principles beyond those have atrophied into invisibility.

From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2025

Social skills and conversational ease have stiffened and atrophied.

From New York Times ● May 14, 2024

The compression stockings were more comfortable than the bandages had been, and Sasha’s atrophied leg muscles had regained their strength.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

“My hunch is that we’re atrophying our brains,” says Wolkowitz, 38.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

After exhausting holistic options, he saw a doctor who said one of his vocal cords was atrophying.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 23, 2024

"After two years, part of my brain was atrophying," one said.

From BBC ● Feb. 4, 2024

The work the body does against gravity to stay upright and move around keeps muscles from atrophying and stimulates bone growth.

From Scientific American ● Sep. 19, 2023

Over the weeks that followed he languished in the hospital, arms curled grotesquely at his sides, muscles atrophying, his weight dropping below 80 pounds.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer




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