spastic
spastic Lexical Profile
spastic Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to, characterized by, or affected by involuntary muscle spasms or spasticity.
"Physical therapy was prescribed to help relieve the patient's spastic muscle contractions."
(offensive, slang) Clumsy, uncoordinated, erratic, or hyperactive.
"The puppy made erratic, spastic leaps across the living room rug."
• noun
(dated, now often offensive) A person affected with spastic paralysis or cerebral palsy.
"Charities Supporting people with cerebral palsy updated their names in the 1990s because the clinical noun spastic had become widely misused as an insult."
(offensive, slang) An uncoordinated, clumsy, or incompetent person.
"Using the word spastic as a playground insult is widely recognized as derogatory toward people with disabilities."
Word Nuance & Usage
While legitimate in strict medical contexts to describe involuntary muscle contractions, "spastic" is considered a highly offensive ableist slur when used as a noun or as slang for clumsiness, especially in British and Commonwealth English.
• Rhymes for spastic
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-18th century from Latin spasticus, from Ancient Greek spastikos ("afflicted with spasms"), derived from span ("to draw, pull, or stretch").