noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/skləˈɹəʊ.sɪs/
Canada, General-American:/skləˈɹoʊ.sɪs/
WisconsinRecorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/skləˈɹəʉ.sɪs/
New-Zealand:/skləˈɹɐʉ.səs/
rhymes with -əʊsɪs
CMU ARPABET:S K L ER0 OW1 S AH0 S
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The abnormal hardening of body tissues, such as an artery; the appearance of hardenings, indurations, lesions, nodules.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
Topics: medicine, pathology, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: hardening, fibrosis, induration
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Inability to create change or excessive resistance to change.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
any pathological hardening or thickening of tissue
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: induration
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: pathology
Narrower terms: multiple sclerosis, MS, disseminated sclerosis, disseminated multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, arteriolosclerosis, arteriosclerosis, arterial sclerosis, hardening of the arteries, induration of the arteries, coronary-artery disease, osteosclerosis
History
Etymology
From Ancient Greek σκλήρωσις (sklḗrōsis, “hardening”), from σκληρόω (sklēróō, “to harden”), from σκληρός (sklērós, “hard”); by surface analysis, sclero- + -osis.
Across languages
Translations
41 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
تَصَلُّب
(taṣallub)
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Armenian:
կարծրախտ
(karcraxt)
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Bulgarian:
склероза
(skleroza)
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Catalan:
esclerosi
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Chinese Mandarin:
硬化症
(yìnghuàzhèng)
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Czech:
skleróza
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Czech:
kornatění
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Danish:
sklerose
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Danish:
sclerose
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Dutch:
sclerose
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Estonian:
skleroos
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Estonian:
kõvastus
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Finnish:
kovettuminen
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
French:
sclérose
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Galician:
esclerose
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Georgian:
სკლეროზი
(sḳlerozi)
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
German:
Sklerose
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Hungarian:
szklerózis
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Hungarian:
elmeszesedés
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Icelandic:
hersli
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Icelandic:
sigg
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Italian:
sclerosi
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Korean:
경화
(gyeonghwa)
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Korean:
경화증
(gyeonghwajeung)
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Latin:
sclērōsis
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Latvian:
skleroze
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Lithuanian:
sklerozė
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Luxembourgish:
Skleros
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Norwegian Bokmål:
sklerose
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Norwegian Nynorsk:
sklerose
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Occitan:
escleròsi
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Polish:
stwardnienie
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Polish:
skleroza
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Portuguese:
esclerose
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Romanian:
scleroză
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Russian:
склеро́з
(skleróz)
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Slovak:
skleróza
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Slovak:
skostnatenie
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Spanish:
esclerosis
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Swedish:
skleros
— abnormal hardening of body tissues
Turkish:
skleroz
— abnormal hardening of body tissues