DEDIFFERENTIATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does dedifferentiation mean? 

• DEDIFFERENTIATION (noun)
  The noun DEDIFFERENTIATION has 1 sense:

1. the loss of specialization in form or function

  Familiarity information: DEDIFFERENTIATION used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEDIFFERENTIATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The loss of specialization in form or function

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("dedifferentiation" is a kind of...):

adaptation; adaption; adjustment (the process of adapting to something (such as environmental conditions))

Derivation:

dedifferentiate (lose specialization in form or function)

 Context examples 

Recurrent giant cell tumors with a sarcomatous dedifferentiation are included in this category as well.

(Malignant Giant Cell Tumor of Tendon Sheath, NCI Thesaurus)