Make Your Point > Archived Issues > HYPERTROPHY
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pronounce
HYPERTROPHY:
Say it "hi PER truh fee."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
Our word hypertrophy means "over-nourishment, overgrowth."
It looks so much like atrophy, distrophy, autotrophy, and heterotrophy because they all come from the Greek word for "food or nourishment:" trophe.
When you say hypertrophy, say it like "duh DUH duh duh," and not like "DUH duh DUH duh."
Let me explain.
You might look at the word hypertrophy and want to pronounce it "HI per TROH fee," in the same pattern as hyperactive ("HI per ACK tiv") and hyperbolic ("HI per BALL ick"). That is, you might want to use the pattern "DUH duh DUH duh," like in the words unimportant, philosophic, photographic, reputation, etc.
But, the way to pronounce hypertrophy is "hi PER truh fee," using the pattern "duh DUH duh duh," like we do with hyperbole ("hi PER buh lee"), hypothesis, photography, catastrophe, identical, appreciate, community, America, etc.
Now that we're good to go on the pronunciation for hypertrophy, let's recall a dramatic synonym: el_ph_nt_s_s, meaning "enormous, terrible overgrowth."
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"HYPERTROPHY"
This word has Greek roots that mean "too much nourishment."
Literally speaking, hypertrophy is the enlargement of a body part or a body. It's caused by too much nutrition. It might be a problem, like when someone's heart has grown too large. Or it might be a good or neutral thing, like when a watermelon has grown so large that you have no choice but to heave it off to a state fair and win it a blue ribbon.
Figuratively speaking, hypertrophy is too much growth, or too much development.
Part of speech:
Often it's a noun, the uncountable or singular kind: "he had surgery for hypertrophy," "this urban hypertrophy is out of control," "we're shocked by the hypertrophy of their self-importance."
Other forms:
"Hypertrophy" is also a verb. You can use it both transitively ("this disease hypertrophies the heart") and intransitively ("the heart hypertrophies"). The other forms are "hypertrophied" and "hypertrophying."
For an adjective, take your pick: there's "hypertrophic" (HI per TROFF ick), "hypertrophous" (hi PER truh fuss), and "hypertrophied" (hi PER truh feed).
How to use it:
This word has a negative tone.
And, compared to words like "bloat," "swelling," and "overgrowth," its tone is especially scholarly and clinical.
In other words, "hypertrophy" suggests that something is diseased: that it has "fed" itself so much that it's swollen to a grotesque size.
Talk about something's hypertrophy, or the hypertrophy of something, or how something has undergone hypertrophy.
You can also talk about something inducing, stimulating, or worsening something's hypertrophy.
Although we have a few standard-sounding adjectives to pick from--"hypertrophic" and "hypertrophous"--we can also just describe something as "hypertrophied." For example, the New York Times called Bjork a master of "hypertrophied singing." And we can talk about regarding, bemoaning, or dismissing something as hypertrophied.
examples:
"It is still a question whether a talent for chess is not a sort of disease, a hypertrophy of the power of combination."
— Paul Heyse, The Children of the World, 1890
"Electric power for urban areas is the fundamental infrastructure on top of which the rest operate... The electric dependency of every aspect of modern society is hypertrophied in cities."
— Mark P. Mills, Forbes, 28 November 2012
has this page helped you understand "hypertrophy"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "hypertrophy" without saying "overgrowth" or "mushrooming."
try it out:
In I, Robot, a collection of short stories, Isaac Asimov wrote:
"Susan said nothing at that seminar; took no part in the hectic discussion period that followed. She was a frosty girl, plain and colorless, who protected herself against a world she disliked by a mask-like expression and a hypertrophy of intellect."
Talk about what he means. How can someone protect herself with a hypertrophy of intellect? Do you know anyone in real life who does this? If not, do you know someone who protects himself with a hypertrophy of any other quality, like humor, self-deprecation, or rigidity?
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Rhyming Puzzles!
I give you a description of something, and you name it in a rhyming phrase. For example, if I say, "This is an ideal environment for a large tree-dwelling lizard--one in which this creature is perfectly happy and peaceful," then you say, "That's iguana nirvana."
The answers will get longer and sillier as the month goes on. If you'd like to see the clue, click or mouse-over the link. I'll share each answer the following day. Enjoy!
From the previous issue: As a new member of an environmental club on campus, you've been handed a stack of two hundred sheets of paper, all of them encouraging students to "REDUCE! REUSE! RECYCLE!" You've been told to plaster these ads all over campus. But you're trapped, morally: you know these sheets are wasteful, that they'll be ignored, that they'll become litter. But will they inspire enough environmental awareness to offset their very wasteful existence? Should you just sneak them into a recycling bin? If so, will your fellow club members see them and get mad at you? You're stuck. This quandary is your _____ ____. (Two words, two syllables each. Clue: use this word.)
Answer: flyer mire.
Try this one today: Mr. Baker, the star of movies like Mars Attacks! and Goldeneye, never seems to age. He pulled off the same grizzled, squinting, cowboyish look from Bonanza (1968) to Fletch (1985). The more you think about this mystical agelessness, the less sense it makes. It fact, the mystery seems to be undoing critical thinking, rather than the other way around. It’s a ___ ___ ____. (Three words: the first two words have one syllable each, and the last word has two syllables. Clue: use this word.)
review this word:
1. The most precise opposite of HYPERTROPHY is HYPOTROPHY, or slightly less precisely, ATROPHY. But a pretty close opposite of HYPERTROPHY is
A. WARPAGE.
B. SHRINKAGE.
C. DEFLECTION.
2. René Magritte's surrealist paintings have been described as "hypertrophic," featuring _____ objects that _____ their surroundings.
A. dainty .. grace
B. enormous .. dwarf
C. skewed .. melt all over
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
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Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Our word hypertrophy means "over-nourishment, overgrowth." This word has Greek roots that mean "too much nourishment."
"It is still a question whether a talent for chess is not a sort of disease, a hypertrophy of the power of combination."
Explain the meaning of "hypertrophy" without saying "overgrowth" or "mushrooming."
In I, Robot, a collection of short stories, Isaac Asimov wrote:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. The most precise opposite of HYPERTROPHY is HYPOTROPHY, or slightly less precisely, ATROPHY. But a pretty close opposite of HYPERTROPHY is
|