KINESIS Definition & Meaning

kinesis

[ki-nee-sis, kahy-]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Physiology.

the movement of an organism in response to a stimulus, as light.

-kinesis

a combining form with the general sense “movement, activity,” used in the formation of compound words, often with the particular senses “reaction to a stimulus” (photokinesis ), “movement without an apparent physical cause” (telekinesis ), “activity within a cell” (karyokinesis ).

kinesis

/ kɪˈniːsɪs, kaɪ- /

noun

biology the nondirectional movement of an organism or cell in response to a stimulus, the rate of movement being dependent on the strength of the stimulus

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51�Թ� History and Origins

Origin of kinesis¹

1900–05; < Greek ��ī́��ŧ�� movement, equivalent to ��ī��ŧ-, verbid stem of ��ī�Ա�î�� to move + -sis -sis

Origin of kinesis²

< Greek -��ī��ŧ��; kinesis

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

This season’s pieces merged the kinesis of aquatic life with the stasis of geometric shapes.

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Nikita then created three images by layering all the filmed footage in a time-lapse spanning the duration of the spoken recording, and collapsed it into static kinesis.

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Elsewhere, it was the realm of gentle optical illusion in patterning that gave several ensembles a kinesis.

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Despite the unwieldy narrative complications, Hosoda achieves an adroit, ultimately instructive balance of kinesis and stillness.

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His hips follow suit, and soon his whole body is in one smooth kinesis.

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When To Use

What does -kinesis mean?

The combining form -kinesis is used like a suffix meaning “movement, activity.” It can have a variety of senses, including "reaction to a stimulus," "movement without an apparent physical cause," or "activity within a cell." It is often used in scientific and technical terms, especially in biology.The form -kinesis comes from Greek -��ī��ŧ��, meaning “motion,” from the verb ��ī�Ա�î��, “to move.” The Latin cognate of ��ī�Ա�î�� is ��ŧ�� (stem cit-), meaning “to move, set in motion,” which is the source of words such as cite and resuscitate. To learn more, check out our entries for both words.What are variants of -kinesis?While not a variant of -kinesis, the form -kinesia, meaning "movement, muscular activity," as in hyperkinesia comes from the same Greek root. The adjectival form of -kinesis is -kinetic, as in bradykinetic. Want to know more? Read our 51�Թ�s That Use articles on -kinesia and -kinetic.

kinesiology kinesthesia

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