Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🌫️ Low in nutrients 💪 Impaired growth
dystrophic

dystrophic

9.6
An acidic lake or soil with a lot of dead plants and few nutrients
  • adjective
  • /dɪsˈtroʊfɪk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : distrófico
  • The researchers found that the dystrophic lake supported only a few hardy species of plants and animals.

Examples

  • Because the soil was dystrophic, farmers struggled to grow crops in the region.

  • Scientists measured the water's acidity to confirm it was a dystrophic environment.

  • The dystrophic lake was teeming with decaying plant matter.

  • Many dystrophic environments struggle to support diverse aquatic life.

  • The researchers found that the dystrophic lake supported only a few hardy species of plants and animals.

  • Because the soil was dystrophic, farmers struggled to grow crops in the region.

  • Scientists measured the water's acidity to confirm it was a dystrophic environment.

Synonyms

oligotrophic
vsdystrophic
  • Specialized
9.9

A place with very little food for plants or animals

is acidic and rich in organic matter despite low nutrients
depauperate
vsdystrophic
  • Specialized
9.9

Not having many different kinds of plants or animals

is a specific acidic, organic-rich state that has low nutrients

Antonyms

productive
46 2.7

Giving large amounts of crops or fruit

Surface Forms

dystrophic positive

Morphology

dystrophic = dystrophy (semi-transparent) = dys + troph + ic

Formed from 'dys-' (bad) + 'troph' (nutrition) + '-ic', but the ecological sense ('acidic, nutrient-poor' lake) is a specialized semantic extension and may not be obvious to general learners.

Etymology

Dystrophic comes from Greek parts dys- meaning 'bad' and -trophic from trophe meaning 'nourishment'. So a dystrophic lake or soil is a place with 'bad nourishment' — acidic and full of rotting matter but low in the food and nutrients plants and animals need.