atrophy

Etymology

Borrowed from French atrophie, from Latin atrophia, from Ancient Greek ἀτροφία (atrophía, “a wasting away”), from ἄτροφος (átrophos, “ill-fed, un-nourished”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + τροφή (trophḗ, “nourishment”), from τρέφω (tréphō, “I fatten”). Equivalent to a- + -trophy.

noun

1. (pathology) A reduction in the functionality of an organ caused by disease, injury or lack of use.

verb

1. (intransitive) To wither or waste away.
   Boy. I love summer vacation. I can feel my brain beginning to atrophy already. Jun 13 1987, Bill Watterson, Calvin & Hobbes (comic)
   The M10 highway looks normal enough at the southern limits of St. Petersburg, but then, with a jolt, it begins to atrophy. For the next 430 miles the surface of the highway, while paved, varies from corduroy to jaw-rattling patchwork. 2013-10-13, Ellen Barry, “The Russia Left Behind: A journey through a heartland on the slow road to ruin”, in The New York Times
2. (transitive) To cause to waste away or become abortive; to starve or weaken.
   Cold silence has a tendency to atrophy any sense of compassion 2001, Tool (lyrics and music), “Schism”