atrophied
Weakened from disuse
Atrophied describes something that has wasted away from disuse or lack of nourishment.
Muscles atrophy when immobilized; skills atrophy when neglected.
The word applies to physical deterioration—his atrophied leg after months in a cast—and figurative decline: an atrophied imagination, atrophied democratic institutions.
What atrophies doesn't disappear but shrinks, weakens, becomes a diminished version of itself.
Weak and breakable
- feebleWeak and ineffective
- debilitatedMade weak or infirm
- enfeebledMade weak or feeble
- wastedUsed without good result
diminished · deteriorated · sapped · enervated · impaired · incapacitated · infirm · fragile
Contracted from moisture loss
- desiccatedThoroughly dehydrated
- wizenedShrunken from age
- shrunkenReduced from original dimensions
- wiltedLimp from dehydration
parched · sere · sapless · stunted · gnarled · wrinkled · emaciated · gaunt
Not given proper attention
- dormantInactive but capable
- unusedNever put to purpose
- idleWithout activity or purpose
- stagnantWithout movement or progress
abandoned · unexercised · fallow · mothballed · rusty · vestigial · redundant · inactive
Loss of tissue mass
- polioParalytic viral infection
- neuropathyDamage to peripheral nerves
- myopathyDisorder of muscle tissue
- multiple sclerosisAutoimmune demyelinating neurological disease
Charcot-Marie-Tooth · neurodegeneration · cachexia · paralysis · rehabilitation · physical therapy · immobilization · bedridden
Without movement or progress
- undevelopedNot fully formed
- stuntedArrested in development
- moribundNear death, failing
- ossifiedTurned hard, inflexible
fossilized · calcified · arrested · dormant · neglected · underdeveloped · impoverished · hollow
Becoming progressively worse
- waningGradually decreasing in intensity
- fadingGradual loss of intensity
- diminishingBecoming progressively less
- shrinkingDecreasing in dimension
ebbing · degenerating · eroding · decaying · crumbling · regressing · dwindling · receding
frail
Weak and breakable
- feebleWeak and ineffective
- debilitatedMade weak or infirm
- enfeebledMade weak or feeble
wasted · diminished · deteriorated · sapped · enervated · impaired · incapacitated · infirm · fragile · powerless
shriveled
Contracted from moisture loss
- desiccatedThoroughly dehydrated
- wizenedShrunken from age
- shrunkenReduced from original dimensions
wilted · parched · sere · sapless · stunted · gnarled · wrinkled · emaciated · gaunt · wasted
neglected
Not given proper attention
stagnant · abandoned · unexercised · fallow · mothballed · rusty · vestigial · redundant · inactive · sedentary
muscle wasting
Loss of tissue mass
- polioParalytic viral infection
- neuropathyDamage to peripheral nerves
- myopathyDisorder of muscle tissue
multiple sclerosis · Charcot-Marie-Tooth · neurodegeneration · cachexia · paralysis · rehabilitation · physical therapy · immobilization · bedridden · contracture
stagnant
Without movement or progress
- undevelopedNot fully formed
- stuntedArrested in development
- moribundNear death, failing
ossified · fossilized · calcified · arrested · dormant · neglected · underdeveloped · impoverished · hollow · empty
deteriorating
Becoming progressively worse
- waningGradually decreasing in intensity
- fadingGradual loss of intensity
- diminishingBecoming progressively less
shrinking · ebbing · degenerating · eroding · decaying · crumbling · regressing · dwindling · receding · failing
- skinnythin, slim, slender, lean, skinny
- muscle conditionstoned, flexed, relaxed, tense, tight
- tissue stateshealthy, diseased, inflamed, necrotic, viable
- deformitiesdeformed, disfigured, misshapen, distorted, twisted
- drynessarid, aridity, dry, dehydrated, bone dry
- fitness levelsfit, unfit, in shape, out of shape, athletic
atrophiedstrengthened
Made more robust
developed · exercised · built up · trained · cultivated
- atrophic gastritisChronic stomach lining degeneration