Tic (en. Tic)

/tik/

Meaning & Definition

EnglishSpanish

noun

Brief and involuntary movements that affect one or several muscles.

The child has a nervous tic that makes him blink constantly.

El niño tiene un tic nervioso que le hace parpadear constantemente.

Involuntary sounds that a person produces repetitively.

His vocal tic is a slight clearing of the throat that he does every few minutes.

Su tic sonoro es un leve carraspeo que hace cada pocos minutos.

Motor manifestation of a neurological or psychological disorder.

The doctor diagnoses the tic as part of a more complex syndrome.

El médico diagnostica el tic como parte de un síndrome más complejo.

From French 'tique', from Latin 'tictus' which means 'hit' or 'touch'.

to have a tic

to experience a repetitive involuntary movement

tener un tic

to make tics

to produce involuntary movements or sounds

hacer tics

nervous tic

a specific type of tic associated with stress

tic nervioso

Tourette syndrome

neurological disorder characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics

síndrome de Tourette

spasm

involuntary contraction of a muscle, can be synonymous with tic in certain contexts

espasmo

disorder

alteration in the normal functioning of an organism

trastorno

Colloquial use to refer to any repetitive behavior that seems compulsive.

She has a tic of touching her hair every time she gets nervous.

Ella tiene un tic de estar tocándose el cabello cada vez que se pone nerviosa.

To denote an uncomfortable habitat or emphasize stress.

Sometimes, when I'm in social situations, I get a tic of moving too much.

A veces, cuando estoy en situaciones sociales, me da un tic de moverme demasiado.