tropism
an orientation of an organism to an external stimulus, as light, especially by growth rather than by movement.
Origin of tropism
1Other words from tropism
- tro·pis·mat·ic [troh-piz-mat-ik], /ˌtroʊ pɪzˈmæt ɪk/, adjective
- tro·pis·tic [troh-pis-tik], /troʊˈpɪs tɪk/, adjective
How to use tropism in a sentence
In those two books, the existential shows itself gradually—breast cancer in the first, a physiological tropism in the second.
Joshua Ferris’s New Novel Chronicles an Existential Dentist in Despair | Tom LeClair | May 6, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTStill, Cuccinelli has shown his own tropism toward the kindness of strangers.
The It Factor in Virginia’s Governor’s Race: Modernity | Lloyd Green | July 29, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThis may be a tropism (stereotropism) or it may be a mere surface tension phenomenon.
The Organism as a Whole | Jacques LoebIt's the same old disregard, or it's the same old psycho-tropism, or process of assimilation.
The Book of the Damned | Charles FortWe shall in the succeeding series of papers deal with the subject of tropism in general.
Life Movements in Plants, Volume II, 1919 | Sir Jagadis Chunder Bose
The workers, on the other hand, who have to be in and out of the nest about their business, do not have this tropism.
Natural Wonders | Edwin Tenney BrewsterNevertheless this is the psycho-tropism of science to all "thunderstones" said to have fallen luminously.
The Book of the Damned | Charles Fort
British Dictionary definitions for tropism (1 of 2)
/ (ˈtrəʊpɪzəm) /
the response of an organism, esp a plant, to an external stimulus by growth in a direction determined by the stimulus
Origin of tropism
1Derived forms of tropism
- tropismatic, adjective
- tropistic (trəʊˈpɪstɪk), adjective
British Dictionary definitions for -tropism (2 of 2)
indicating a tendency to turn or develop in response to a certain stimulus: phototropism
Origin of -tropism
2Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for tropism
[ trō′pĭz′əm ]
The growth or movement of a living organism or anatomical structure toward or away from an external stimulus, such as light, heat, or gravity. See also geotropism hydrotropism phototropism.
Other words from tropism
- tropistic adjective
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse