Spastic Meaning
/ˈspastɪk/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjOf, relating to, or affected by spasm.
adjOf or relating to spastic paralysis.
Sentence Examples
The condition caused a series of sudden and spastic movements.
Spastic means relating to or affected by muscle spasms.
The doctor diagnosed the patient with a mild spastic condition.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The neurologist noted that the patient's leg muscles were ____, leading to uncontrolled spasms.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Medical research continues to look for better ways to manage ____ muscle conditions in younger patients.
Word Origin & History
Learned borrowing from Latin spasticus, from Ancient Greek σπαστικός (spastikós, “drawing in”). By surface analysis, spasm + -tic. Cf. French spastique and see also spasm.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"‘Oi, Fleming, you spastic. Guess who I knobbed last night?’"
— 1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 17:
"Jed Maxwell: See you next week then. We'll have that pint.
Alan Partridge: Yep.
Jed Maxwell: ...go and see my brother.
Alan Partridge: No way, you big spastic! You're a mentalist!"
— 1997 December 1, Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci, “To Kill a Mocking Alan”, in I'm Alan Partridge:
"Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky): Show Link! This is nuts—she can't even dance.
Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes): Plastic little spastic.
Tracy Turnblad: Oh, Link, I can dance so much better than her.
Penny Pingleton: Mhm!
Tracy Turnblad: Why don't you notice me at school?"
— 2007 July 20, Leslie Dixon, Hairspray, spoken by Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes), Ingenious Media, Zadan/Meron Productions; distributed by New Line Cinema:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The neurologist noted that the patient's leg muscles were ____, leading to uncontrolled spasms.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Medical research continues to look for better ways to manage ____ muscle conditions in younger patients.