| Systole 1. (n.) The shortening of the long syllable. 2. (n.) The contraction of the heart and arteries by which the blood is forced onward and the circulation kept up; -- correlative to diastole. Thesaurus Entries abbreviation, arsis, astriction, astringency, beat, bottleneck, bout, cervix, circle, circuit, circumscription, coarctation, compactedness, compaction, compression, compressure, concentration, condensation, consolidation, constriction, constringency, contraction, contracture, course, curtailment, cycle, decrease, diastole, diminuendo, downbeat, hourglass, hourglass figure, isthmus, knitting, narrow place, narrowing, neck, puckering, pulse, pursing, reduction, revolution, rotation, round, series, shortening, solidification, spell, stranglement, strangulation, striction, stricture, thesis, turn, upbeat, wasp waist, wheel, wrinkling |