sclerotic
1 of 2adjective
scle·rot·ic sklə-ˈrä-tik 
1
a
medical : of, relating to, or affected with sclerosis (see sclerosis sense 1)
sclerotic arteries
sclerotic bone lesions
b
: grown rigid or unresponsive especially with age : unable or reluctant to adapt or compromise
a sclerotic system/bureaucracy
the country's sclerotic economy
The upheaval in Egypt, Libya, Bahrain and elsewhere is driven by popular revulsion with sclerotic, corrupt leadership.
Rachel Bronson
Rachel Bronson2
anatomy : being or relating to the sclera
the sclerotic coat of the eye
sclerotic
2 of 2noun
: sclera
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2022 Eventually the Soviet Union, burdened by a sclerotic economy, simply collapsed. Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2022 And time is running out for that sclerotic body to pass any major laws before next year, when Democrats will almost surely lose their governing trifecta. Wired, 22 July 2022 The Brezhnev era was no less sclerotic artistically than socially. Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 19 July 2022 Despite reports of dispirited Russian troops, obsolete equipment and a sclerotic command structure, Moscow appears to have seized the advantage in the eastern region — at least for now. Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2022 It’s all a far cry from the supply-side marginal-rate reductions and other reforms that would permanently shift the incentives to invest and work in Germany’s often sclerotic economy. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 29 Apr. 2022 Change comes slowly to the Senate, a sclerotic institution that still has a pair of spittoons on the floor because, well, tradition. Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2022 The military engineer turned writer had been in debt most of his adult life, having exhausted the lines of credit through which Russians kept their sclerotic financial system going — personal loans, promissory notes, even pawnshop tickets. Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2021 See More
Adjective
Despite reports of dispirited Russian troops, obsolete equipment and a sclerotic command structure, Moscow appears to have seized the advantage in the eastern region — at least for now. Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2022 Eventually the Soviet Union, burdened by a sclerotic economy, simply collapsed. Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2022 And time is running out for that sclerotic body to pass any major laws before next year, when Democrats will almost surely lose their governing trifecta. Wired, 22 July 2022 The Brezhnev era was no less sclerotic artistically than socially. Mark Feeney, BostonGlobe.com, 19 July 2022 Despite reports of dispirited Russian troops, obsolete equipment and a sclerotic command structure, Moscow appears to have seized the advantage in the eastern region — at least for now. Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2022 It’s all a far cry from the supply-side marginal-rate reductions and other reforms that would permanently shift the incentives to invest and work in Germany’s often sclerotic economy. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 29 Apr. 2022 Change comes slowly to the Senate, a sclerotic institution that still has a pair of spittoons on the floor because, well, tradition. Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2022 The military engineer turned writer had been in debt most of his adult life, having exhausted the lines of credit through which Russians kept their sclerotic financial system going — personal loans, promissory notes, even pawnshop tickets. Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2021 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
Medieval Latin sclerotica, from Greek *sklērōtos, verbal of Greek sklēroun to harden
First Known Use
Adjective
1543, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Noun
1690, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing sclerotic
Medical Definition
sclerotic 1 of 2
adjective
scle·rot·ic sklə-ˈrät-ik
1
: being or relating to the sclera
the sclerotic layer of the eye
2
: of, relating to, or affected with sclerosis
a sclerotic blood vessel
sclerotic
2 of 2noun
: sclera