Help again. I come across word 'sclerotic' while reviewing for B2 levels

[cappy]

Hello again people. Oxford Dictionary's 'Word of Day' showed a new word called 'sclerotic'.
The dictionary gave this entry:
losing the ability to change and adapt

• The movement was becoming increasingly sclerotic and bureaucratic.

I thought, "this only applies to an old system or process slow to change and not growing fast enough". I checked the word's definition on Merriam Webster, to see if the entries are same. But no, merriam webster has different results. Merriam Webster has the entry "grown rigid or unresponsive especially with age : unable or reluctant to adapt or compromise". This makes me think of old stubborn man or woman who don't want things to change. Can someone explain this word to me?

 

[probus]

The noun sclerosis and the related adjective sclerotic began as medical jargon. Therefore, to doctors they have a precise scientific meaning. When such technical terms are used in ordinary non-technical circumstances, that precision is often lost. I think both Oxford and Merriam-Webster have done a good job of explaining what ordinary people mean by those words.

 

[Tarheel]

Hello again people. Oxford Dictionary's 'Word of Day' showed a new word called 'sclerotic'.
The dictionary gave this entry:
losing the ability to change and adapt

• The movement was becoming increasingly sclerotic and bureaucratic.

I thought, "this only applies to an old system or process slow to change and not growing fast enough". I checked the word's definition on Merriam Webster, to see if the entries are same. But no, merriam webster has different results. Merriam Webster has the entry "grown rigid or unresponsive especially with age: unable or reluctant to adapt or compromise". This makes me think of stubborn old men or women who don't want things to change. Can someone explain this word to me?

Two things. One, although the word is new to you, it is not a new word. Two, while those dictionary definitions are not identical, they don't disagree with each other. Not at all!

I recommend www.dictionary.com. They give several example sentences with each definition.

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello again people. Unnecessary. Just go ahead with your question.

Oxford Dictionary's 'Word of the Day' showed a new word called was 'sclerotic'.
The dictionary gave this entry definition and example sentence:

losing the ability to change and adapt

• The movement was becoming increasingly sclerotic and bureaucratic.

I thought that meant "This only applies to an old system or process slow to change and not growing fast enough". What made you think that?

I checked the word's definition on Merriam Webster no comma here to see if the entries are same no full stop here but no, Merriam Webster has gives different results. Merriam Webster has the entry defines it as "grown rigid or unresponsive especially with age: unable or reluctant to adapt or compromise". This makes me think of an old stubborn man or woman who don't doesn't want things to change. Can someone explain this word to me?

 

[probus]

Also @cappy, the word isn't CALLED "sclerotic". The word IS "sclerotic".

 

[jutfrank]

It's certainly not a B2 level word.

 

[Rover_KE]

cappy, I admire your thirst for knowledge, but this is another rarely encountered word that most have us have to look up when we read or hear it. That's what dictionaries are for.

How often have you met sclérotique in a French text?

There's little point in subjecting to detailed analysis every obscure Word of the Day that you're only going to come across a handful of times in several decades.

 

[Tarheel]

One more minor point. (Maybe two.) In a person's active vocabulary are words he is familiar with and uses fairly regularly. The words in a person's passive vocabulary are words he knows but doesn't use. (The word "sclerotic" is in that category for me.)

I like the term "everyday word". What's an everyday word? It's a word you are likely to encounter often; therefore it's a good idea to learn it. (If I say something is not an everyday word that means you don't have to bother learning it -- especially if you're a beginner.)

(I think I made the term "everyday word," but I could be wrong.)