tic

(tĭk)

1. A repetitive, rapid, sudden muscular movement or vocalization, usually experienced as involuntary or semivoluntary.

2. A quirk or habit of behavior or language: common phrases that have become verbal tics.

intr.v. ticced, tic·cing, tics

To have a tic; produce tics: factors that affect the frequency of ticcing.

[French.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

tic

(tɪk)

(Pathology) spasmodic twitching of a particular group of muscles

[C19: from French, of uncertain origin; compare Italian ticche]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

tic

(tɪk)

n.

a. a sudden, spasmodic, painless, involuntary muscular contraction, as of the face.

b. tic douloureux.

2. a persistent behavioral trait; personal quirk.

[1790–1800; < French (of expressive orig.)]

-tic

a suffix, equivalent in meaning to -ic, occurring orig. in adjectives of Greek origin (analytic), and used esp. in the formation of adjectives from nouns ending in -sis: neurotic; systaltic.

[< Greek -tikos, extracted from adjs. derived with -ikos -ic from agent nouns ending in -tēs; compare athlete and athletic]

tic

The involuntary twitching of a muscle normally under voluntary control. Generally a sign of anxiety or insecurity, a tic begins as a deliberate movement that gradually becomes unconscious.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

tic - a local and habitual twitching especially in the face

twitch, twitching, vellication - a sudden muscle spasm; especially one caused by a nervous condition

tic

noun twitch, jerk, spasm She developed a tic in her left eye.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

tic

noun

A nervous shaking of the body:

quake, quiver, shake, shiver, shudder, thrill, tremor, twitch.

Translations

تَشَنُّج عَضَلي

tik

trækning

Macke

tic

arcrángás

vöîvakippur

tic ticchio

tiks

leamus nervøs trekning

tik

tik

局部的抽筋抽搐痉挛

tic

[tɪk] N (Med) → tic m
a nervous tic → un tic nervioso

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

tic

[ˈtɪk] n → tic m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

tic

n (Med) → Tick m, → nervöses Zucken

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

tic

[tɪk] n (Med) → tic m inv

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

tic

(tik) noun

a nervous, involuntary movement or twitch of a muscle, especially of the face. She has a nervous tic below her left eye.

tic

n tic m; — douloureux tic doloroso, neuralgia del trigémino

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

These are two of the most manic and intense actors-on- and off-screen-and it is a joy to behold them, gravitas for gravitas, facial tic for facial tic, passionate performances rarely seen in visual counterpoint and duet.

Madness and Civilization: 'The Professor and the Madman'

On her first such visit, Miljour said, she noticed that her older daughter, seven-year-old Donella, had developed a facial tic and that her hands were trembling.

County employee, accused dope peddler given kid glove treatment by cops, county

He had a facial tic that I think was caused by shell shock."

Hollywood tear-jerker

He had a facial tic that I think was caused by sprotecting men from enemy air attack.

Hollywood tear-jerker; PICK OF THE DAY Who Do You Think You Are? (BBC1, 9pm)

"He had a facial tic I think was caused by shellshock."

The investigation was solved by the coppers with iPads by way of some unconventional breaks, like a mask and a facial tic.

Masterful mix of serious police drama and salty wit in No Offence

In the film, a subtle facial tic that Cooper has as he looks through the scope of his weapon made Kyle nearly forget she was watching an actor on screen, she said.

Sniper's widow struggled with having him portrayed in film

A doctor with a familiar gait and a facial tic. Eric has come back to visit Ern for a reflective look back at their life and comedy partnership.

Review; ERIC AND LITTLE ERNEpstein Theatre

A nervous PR account manager, her instincts forcing her back to sentience, providing her charge with a strained facial tic to signal that he, Gary Barlow, must feign pleasure with the offering put before him.

Birmingham thanks its lucky stars as Barlow pops in for a quick bite

"I know a thing or two about working out," Fonda cracks, and the winking script becomes a painful facial tic.

Better Living Through Chemistry

"I have never considered Derek to be disabled, I never understood it when they started trying to second guess," says Gervais, who plays Derek with a shuffle walk and a facial tic. "Some are saying, 'He is autistic', 'No, he's got Down's syndrome', 'No, he's...' If I say he is not meant to be, he is not meant to be, it's as simple as that." He points out that many other characters on TV have been more extreme than Derek and no one tried to diagnose them with anything.

It's all hail to the comedy dictator; for Ricky Gervais. and comedy, it's his way or the highway. Matt Isard meets the controversial comedian to find out why his latest TV show Derek is 'the kindest thing he''s ever written'

BY THE END of May you can pick a multi-season hunter out of a crowd at 100 paces: stubble beard, dark bags highlighting bloodshot eyes, an intermittent facial tic, a formidable odor, and a distant, confused stare.

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