spastic

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin spasticus, from Ancient Greek σπαστικός (spastikós, “drawing in”). By surface analysis, spasm +‎ -tic. Compare French spastique and see also spasm.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈspastɪk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈspæstɪk/

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -æstɪk

Adjective

spastic (comparative more spastic, superlative most spastic)

1. (pathology) Of, relating to, or affected by spasm.
2. (pathology) Of or relating to spastic paralysis.
3. (dated, pathology, now offensive) (Of a person) Having cerebral palsy.
4. (slang, derogatory, offensive) Incompetent or physically uncoordinated.
5. (slang, derogatory, offensive) Hyperactive or behaving erratically.

Usage notes

• See the usage notes about the noun, below.

Derived terms

• spastic abasia
• spastic colitis
• spastic colon
• spastic tetraplegia

Translations

of, relating to, or affected by spasm

• Danish: krampagtig
• Finnish: spastinen, kouristuksellinen; kouristuksenomainen
• French: spastique (fr)
• German: spastisch (de)
• Italian: spastico (it)
• Polish: spastyczny (pl)
• Russian: спазмати́ческий (ru) (spazmatíčeskij)
• Sicilian: spàsticu
• Swedish: spastisk (sv)

of or relating to spastic paralysis

• Danish: spastisk
• Finnish: spastinen
• French: handicapé moteur (fr), spastique (fr)
• German: spastisch (de)
• Italian: spastico (it)
• Polish: spastyczny (pl)
• Sicilian: spàsticu
• Swedish: spastisk (sv)

clumsy

• Finnish: tohelo (fi), kankea (fi)

hyperactive, excited, and random manner

• Finnish: tempoileva

Noun

spastic (plural spastics)

1. (dated, now offensive) A person affected by spastic paralysis or spastic cerebral palsy.
2. (slang, derogatory, offensive) A stupid, clumsy person.
   • 1995, Nick Hornby, High Fidelity, London: Victor Gollancz, →ISBN, page 17:

     ‘Oi, Fleming, you spastic. Guess who I knobbed last night?’

   • 1997 December 1, Peter Baynham, Steve Coogan, Armando Iannucci, “To Kill a Mocking Alan”, in I'm Alan Partridge:

     Jed Maxwell: See you next week then. We'll have that pint.
     Alan Partridge: Yep.
     Jed Maxwell: ...go and see my brother.
     Alan Partridge: No way, you big spastic! You're a mentalist!

Usage notes

• The offensiveness of spastic and spaz differs considerably between the US and the UK. In the United States, the terms are usually inoffensive outside of the disability community; in the UK and Ireland, they are broadly offensive and typically taken as denigrating references to those with cerebral palsy. Consequently, University of Sussex linguist Lynne Murphy has described spastic as "one of the most taboo insults to a British ear", and in a survey in 2003 by the BBC it was voted the second-most offensive word relating to disability (after retard).

From nowadays, any uses of spastic in relation of a person, (as in a spastic child, not in spastic colon, spastic paraplegia etc.) can be offensive, so it is better to say that a person has (a) cerebral palsy.

Derived terms

• scoper (slur)
• spack
• spacker
• spasticated
• spaz, spazz

Translations

person affected by spastic paralysis or spastic cerebral palsy

• Danish: spastiker c
• Finnish: spastikko
• Russian: спазма́тик (ru) (spazmátik)
• Swedish: spastiker (sv) c

clumsy person

• Finnish: tohelo (fi)
• Polish: niezdara (pl) m

one who is hyperactive

References

• “spastic”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “spastic”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• cat piss

Interlingua

Adjective

spastic (not comparable)

1. spastic

Related terms

• spasmo

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French spastique.

Adjective

spastic m or n (feminine singular spastică, masculine plural spastici, feminine and neuter plural spastice)

1. spastic

Declension

Declension of spastic

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	spastic		spastică		spastici	spastice
	definite	spasticul		spastica		spasticii	spasticele
genitive- dative	indefinite	spastic		spastice		spastici	spastice
	definite	spasticului		spasticei		spasticilor	spasticelor