atrophy

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

But the deeper failure isn’t land management alone—it’s an aviation fleet the federal government has let atrophy for decades and never rebuilt to match the threat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

"We found there was less brain atrophy and less tau accumulation, which was very exciting to see."

From Science Daily ● Jul. 20, 2026

Human brains function on a pretty strict use-it-or-lose-it policy: When they’re not engaged, they start to atrophy.

From Salon ● Jun. 10, 2026

The psyche can be bombarded only so much by these rhythms before it begins to crumble and atrophy.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

Despite massive vocal opposition, cognitive offloading is addictive, and our capacity for deep work atrophies with every use.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 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

The social spirit is not cultivated,—in fact, in so far as the purely individualistic method gets in its work, it atrophies for lack of use.

From Moral Principles in Education by John Dewey

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

When we met him, he meandered across the field, atrophied by lack of exercise, sat on my foot and looked up with a hopeful demeanor.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 14, 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 cells in your systems have atrophied and are dead,” she said sharply.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

But the Mayor’s Fund had been atrophying for years, with its donations shrinking to a fraction of what it raised under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 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