What does sclerosis mean?
Sclerosis is a term for the abnormal hardening or stiffening of tissue, most often in medical contexts and particularly in relation to the nervous system. In multiple sclerosis, immune-related damage is followed by scarring and hardening within the central nervous system, which can interfere with signals passing between the brain and the rest of the body. The word can also describe a general process of hardening, and writers occasionally use it metaphorically for social or institutional rigidity. Its Greek origin, from sklēros, meaning “hard,” makes the term especially memorable: it names the physical change that underlies many of the symptoms associated with the condition. Although it is a familiar element in disease names, sclerosis on its own is primarily a medical term rather than everyday vocabulary.
nounA pathological hardening of tissue, especially in the nervous system, often leading to impaired function. The term is especially associated with multiple sclerosis, a disease affecting the central nervous system.
- The medical condition of hardening of tissue, especially the nervous system.
- A general process or state of becoming hard, particularly in a biological or figurative sense.
"The condition causes sclerosis of the spinal cord and surrounding nerves."
"Advanced sclerosis can lead to serious loss of coordination and mobility."
"The novel uses the gradual sclerosis of a rigid society as a central metaphor."
The plural is uncommon. In general and medical prose, the term is normally used as an uncountable noun or within named disease expressions such as multiple sclerosis.
"The clinician described several forms of sclerosis affecting the nervous system."
Sclerosis literally means “hardening,” from a Greek root for “hard”—a fitting description for conditions that make tissue stiff and impair its function.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sclerosis come from?
The word comes from Greek sklērōsis, a term derived from sklēros, meaning “hard,” with the suffix -ōsis denoting a condition or process. It entered English through medical usage and became especially prominent in the name multiple sclerosis. Related English words include sclerotic, scleroderma, sclereid, and sclerometer, all sharing the Greek root for hardness.
Related word forms
How sclerosis is actually used
In medical usage, the word is usually a technical term and is commonly encountered in the names of specific diseases, especially multiple sclerosis. Outside medicine, it is uncommon and may sound formal or metaphorical.