atony

[ at-n-ee ]

noun

1. Pathology. lack of tone or energy; muscular weakness, especially in a contractile organ.
2. Phonetics. lack of stress accent.

atony

/ ˈætənɪ /

noun

1. pathol lack of normal tone or tension, as in muscles; abnormal relaxation of a muscle
2. phonetics lack of stress or accent on a syllable or word

Word History and Origins

Origin of atony¹

1685–95; < Late Latin atonia < Greek, derivative of átonos unaccented, languid, literally, toneless. See a- ⁶, tone

Word History and Origins

Origin of atony¹

C17: from Latin atonia, from Greek: tonelessness, from atonos slack, from a- ¹+ tonos tone

Example Sentences

In a statement to the Belfast Telegraph, Thomas O'Keefe of insolvency practitioners Atony Batty & Company LLP said: "I can confirm that McGuigan's Gym Ltd and Cyclone Promotions Ltd were placed into Creditors' Voluntary Liquidation today and Hugh Francis Jesseman of Antony Batty & Company LLP was appointed as liquidator."

From BBC

Secretary of State Atony Blinken also condemned the attack.

From Washington Times

Current Secretary of State Atony Blinken echoed the assertion in 2022, saying the genocide was “ongoing.”

From Washington Times

It is a case of disheartening atony for which there is no possible cure.

From Project Gutenberg

“It is a state of the digestive organs in which either they do not secrete the fluid destined for the solution of the aliment, or they are in such a condition of irritability or atony, that by the mechanical irritation of the food, painful sensations and irregular motions are exerted.”

From Project Gutenberg