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metastasize

 - 5 dictionary results

me⋅tas⋅ta⋅size

  [muh-tas-tuh-sahyz]
Use metastasize in a Sentence
–verb (used without object), -sized, -siz⋅ing.
1. Pathology. (of malignant cells or disease-producing organisms) to spread to other parts of the body by way of the blood or lymphatic vessels or membranous surfaces.
2. to spread injuriously: Street gangs have metastasized in our city.
3. to transform, esp. into a dangerous form: The KGB metastasized after the fall of the Soviet Union. Truth metastasized into lurid fantasy.
Also, especially British, me⋅tas⋅ta⋅sise.

Origin:
1905–10; metastas(is) + -ize
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To metastasize
me·tas·ta·size   (mĭ-tās'tə-sīz')   
intr.v.   me·tas·ta·sized, me·tas·ta·siz·ing, me·tas·ta·siz·es

  1. To be transmitted or transferred by metastasis.

  2. To be changed or transformed, especially dangerously: "a need for love that would metastasize into an insatiable craving for attention" (Michiko Kakutani).

  3. To spread, especially destructively: "[disinformation] ... that even now continues to metastasize ... to such a degree that myth threatens to overthrow history" (Gore Vidal).

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: me·tas·ta·size
Variant: also British me·tas·ta·sise /m&-'tas-t&-"sIz/
Function: intransitiveverb
Inflected Forms: -sized also British -sised; -siz·ing also British -sis·ing
: to spread by metastasis metastasized beyond the larynx before a diagnosis of carcinoma was made —American Practitioner> —me·tas·ta·si·za·tion also British me·tas·ta·si·sa·tion /m&-"tas-t&-s&-'zA-sh&n/ noun
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

metastasize me·tas·ta·size (mə-tās'tə-sīz')
v. me·tas·ta·sized, me·tas·ta·siz·ing, me·tas·ta·siz·es
To be transmitted or transferred by or as if by metastasis.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Science Dictionary
metastasis   (mə-tās'tə-sĭs)  Pronunciation Key 
A cancerous tumor formed by transmission of malignant cells from a primary cancer located elsewhere in the body.

metastasize verb
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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