Synonyms

catabolic

American

[kat-uh-bol-ik] / ˌkæt əˈbɒl ɪk /

adjective

Biology, Physiology.

involving or stimulating the breakdown of complex substances into simpler ones as part of the process of metabolism in living organisms (opposed to anabolic).

The protein catabolic rate is the rate at which proteins break down in the body.

Other Word Forms

catabolically adverb

Etymology

Origin of catabolic

catabol(ism) ( def. ) + -ic

Vocabulary lists containing catabolic

Cell Biology - High School

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The digestible carbohydrates in an animal’s diet are converted to glucose molecules through a series of catabolic chemical reactions.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

This is a metabolic process, but is neither anabolic nor catabolic.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Metabolic pathways are wasteful as they perform uncoordinated catabolic and anabolic reactions that wastes some of the energy that is stored.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Physical exercise involves both catabolic and anabolic processes.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

One had an anabolic metabolism, one a catabolic.

From The Venus Trap by Smith, Evelyn E.

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023