💪 Muscle stiffness 🚫 Offensive insult 🧑‍🦽 Person with paralysis

spastic

1 9.9

An insulting word for people with disabilities that should not be used

noun
/ˈspæstɪk/

Slur

: espástico

Many organizations campaign against the use of spastic due to its derogatory meaning.

Examples

Using the word spastic to describe someone is highly offensive.
He was hurt by being called a spastic at school, which is an unacceptable slur.
The word spastic is now widely recognized as an offensive insult and should not be used.
It's not acceptable to call anyone a spastic.
He used the word spastic to insult someone, which many find deeply offensive.
Calling someone a spastic in a derogatory way can hurt feelings and perpetuate stigma.
At the meeting, she spoke against the use of the term spastic, advocating for respectful language.

Compounds

spastic colon

Archaic

1 5.8

A gut condition that causes belly pain and alternating diarrhea and constipation and is often worse with stress

spastic abasia

Specialized

9.9

A problem that makes a person unable to walk because leg muscles are too tight

spastic bladder

Specialized

8.2

A bladder that squeezes too often, causing loss of control and stopping and starting of urine

spastic gesture

9.1

An uncontrolled sudden jerky movement of a hand or body

spastic paralysis

Specialized

7.6

Weak muscles and stiffness with sudden muscle jerks caused by brain damage at birth

Surface Forms

spastic singular

spastics plural

Morphology

spastic = spasm (opaque) = spasm + tic

The offensive usage of 'spastic' as a derogatory term is not directly derivable from its root 'spasm'.

Etymology

Spastic comes from the same Greek root spazō 'to pull' as the word spasm, but it has been used as a cruel insult for people with disabilities. That's why the word is hurtful and should not be used.