🦴 To become stiff 🦴 To fuse bones

to ankylose

9.9

Become stiff and fixed when the bones of a joint grow together

verb
/ˈæŋkɪloʊz/

Specialized

: anquilosarse

In severe cases of arthritis, fingers can ankylose over time.

Examples

If left untreated, the joint may ankylose and limit movement permanently.
Doctors warned that the elbow could ankylose if it remains immobilized too long.
The doctor warned that the joint might ankylose if not treated.
The condition may cause the bones to ankylose over time.
If left untreated, the joint may ankylose and limit movement permanently.
In severe cases of arthritis, fingers can ankylose over time.
Doctors warned that the elbow could ankylose if it remains immobilized too long.

How Stiff

to ankylose

Specialized

9.9

to stiffen

25 3.7

to relax

78 1.0

to flex

17 3.2

Surface Forms

ankylose infinitive

ankylosing present participle

ankyloses third person singular

ankylozed past

ankylozed past participle

Morphology

ankylose = ankylosis (transparent) = ankyl + ose

The intransitive sense ('to become stiff or fused') is directly related to the noun 'ankylosis' and is predictable from that base.

Etymology

Ankylose comes from the old Greek root ankylos meaning 'bent' or 'stiff', and it describes when a joint becomes 'fused' or stuck so it cannot move.