arrhythmic

Definitions

a- (Greek 'without') + rhythm + -ic = 'without a regular beat.' The doubled r appears where the a- prefix runs straight into the rh- of rhythm (a-rrhythmic). It is mainly a medical word: an arrhythmic heartbeat has lost its steady rhythm, and the condition itself is called arrhythmia.

Why It Means This

arrhythmic is the negative twin of rhythmic. The Greek privative a- means 'without,' the same a- you see in atypical or asymmetric. When it joins rhythm, the prefix's a collides with the word's rh-, giving the double-r spelling. In medicine it describes a heart that has lost its steady beat; the noun arrhythmia names the disorder itself.

Common Collocations

• 1.arrhythmic heartbeat心律不齐的心跳
• 2.arrhythmic pulse不规则的脉搏
• 3.arrhythmic pattern无规律的模式

Example Sentences

• 1.

  The patient's arrhythmic heartbeat alarmed the nurses on duty.

• 2.

  An arrhythmic pulse can be an early warning of heart trouble.

• 3.

  The old clock ticked in an odd, arrhythmic way.