Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Affected or marked by sclerosis.
  • adjective Anatomy Of or relating to the sclera.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Pertaining to or of the nature of sclerosis.
  • Related to or derived from ergot. Also sclerotinic.
  • noun Same as sclerotica.
  • noun A medicine which hardens and consolidates the parts to which it is applied.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Hard; firm; indurated; -- applied especially in anatomy to the firm outer coat of the eyeball, which is often cartilaginous and sometimes bony.
  • adjective (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the sclerotic coat of the eye; sclerotical.
  • adjective (Med.) Affected with sclerosis; sclerosed.
  • adjective (Bot.) sclerenchyma. By some writers a distinction is made, sclerotic parenchyma being applied to tissue composed of cells with the walls hardened but not thickened, and sclerenchyma to tissue composed of cells with the walls both hardened and thickened.
  • noun (Anat.) The sclerotic coat of the eye. See Illust. of eye (d).
  • adjective (Chem.) Pertaining to, or designating, an acid obtained from ergot or the sclerotium of a fungus growing on rye.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to the sclera
  • adjective Having sclerosis
  • adjective Hard and insular, often in sclerotic bureaucracy

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or relating to the sclera of the eyeball
  • adjective relating to or having sclerosis; hardened

Etymologies

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Examples

  • In his critique of the traditional Shia clergy -- a group that he described as sclerotic and superstitious, enemies of progress and true Islam -- Shariati had exempted Khomeini, praising him for his fierce fight against despotism and colonialism.

    The New Republic - All Feed Abbas Milani 2010

  • Right now, if you have a bad aortic valve--if you have advanced heart disease, or most people who age develop what's called a sclerotic aortic valve, their aortic valve literally becomes brittle and hard and doesn't open well, and those patients can go into heart failure, and a lot of them are just too sick for surgery.

    Class War Stories 2011

  • Lining the inner surface of the sclerotic is the second coat, the choroid.

    A Practical Physiology Albert F. Blaisdell

  • More to the point: literary study may or may not have become "sclerotic" pre-theory, but so what?

    Literary Study 2009

  • Publication of WikiLeaks sourced private US comments on the corruption and nepotism of a hated "sclerotic" regime is said to have helped create Tunisia's protest, and generated talk by US commentators of a "Wikileaks revolution".

    Tunisia: The WikiLeaks connection 2011

  • In a confidential 2009 U.S. cable leaked recently by WikiLeaks, an official wrote that Mr. Ben Ali's rule had degenerated into a "sclerotic" regime.

    Tunisians Oust President Margaret Coker 2011

  • He rejects the idea that Israel's salvation lies in alignment with the Saudis and other "sclerotic" Sunni regimes.

    MJ Rosenberg: Will Obama Buckle? 2009

  • The diplomats report the tyrannical tendencies of the junta but also point out many problems with the "sclerotic" leadership of a democratic opposition and its undemocratic ways.

    Thestar.com - Home Page Thomas Fuller 2010

  • The diplomats report the tyrannical tendencies of the junta but also point out many problems with the "sclerotic" leadership of a democratic opposition and its undemocratic ways.

    Thestar.com - Home Page Thomas Fuller 2010

  • Although a potential friend to America in the region, the country is troubled by nepotism, corruption, and the 'sclerotic' regime of ageing president Ben Ali.

    The Guardian World News 2010

Comments

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  • I have noticed a sudden upsurge in the use of 'sclerotic' to describe Sydney's traffic problems. Probably an apt metaphor, but it is starting to grate.

    December 5, 2007

  • Sclerosis, as in a hardening of the arterial roads? My, what journalism we endure. I remember a Sydney performance poet called Cringeworthy who used to take this kind of stuff and turn it into bizarre, funny, chaotic soundscapes.

    December 5, 2007

  • Citation (as noun) on nictitate.

    June 30, 2008