n.
Pronunciation: ' tr ō - ˌ pi-z ə m
Function: noun
Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary -tropism
Date: 1899
1 a : involuntary orientation by an organism or one of its parts that involves turning or curving by movement or by differential growth and is a positive or negative response to a source of stimulation b : a reflex reaction involving a tropism
2 : an innate tendency to react in a definite manner to stimuli broadly : a natural inclination : PROPENSITY <encouraged his tropism toward the theatrical ― John Updike>
– tro · pis · tic \ tr ō - ' pis-tik \ adjective