Contractile
Pronunciation : Con*tract"ile
Part of Speech : a.
Etymology : [Cf. F. contractile.]
Definition : Defn: tending to contract; having the power or property of contracting, or of shrinking into shorter or smaller dimensions; as, the contractile tissues. The heart's contractile force. H. Brooke. Each cilium seems to be composed of contractile substance. Hixley. Contractile vacuole (Zo?l.), a pulsating cavity in the interior of a protozoan, supposed to be excretory in function. There may be one, two, or more.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913