🧬 No centromere 🎨 Not centered

acentric

9.9

A chromosome or chromosome fragment without a centromere

adjective
/ˌeɪˈsɛntrɪk/

Specialized

: acentro

An acentric chromosome cannot attach to the spindle and is often lost during mitosis.

Examples

In some cases, acentric fragments can lead to genetic disorders.
Recent research focused on the behavior of acentric fragments during cell division.
The scientist observed an acentric piece of DNA under the microscope.
The acentric chromosome was difficult to analyze.
An acentric chromosome fails to connect to the spindle during mitosis, resulting in its loss.
Recent studies have shown that acentric fragments can behave unpredictably during cell division.
The geneticist identified an acentric fragment while examining the structure of the chromosomes.

Antonyms

centric

37 6.0

Near the middle of something or focused on that point

Compounds

acentric chromosome

Specialized

9.5

A chromosome with no centromere that cannot attach to the spindle during cell division

Surface Forms

acentric positive

Morphology

acentric = centric (opaque) = a + centr + ic

Although the form suggests 'without a center', this genetic sense specifically means 'lacking a centromere', which is not predictable for most learners from 'centric' alone.

Etymology

Acentric comes from the prefix a- meaning 'not' and centric from center, so it literally means 'not centered'. In genetics, an acentric chromosome or fragment lacks the special central part called a centromere, so it cannot attach properly during cell division and is often lost.