from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Contractile \Con*tract"ile\, a. [Cf. F. contractile.]
tending to contract; having the power or property of
contracting, or of shrinking into shorter or smaller
dimensions; as, the contractile tissues.
[1913 Webster]
The heart's contractile force. --H. Brooke.
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Each cilium seems to be composed of contractile
substance. --Hixley.
[1913 Webster]
{Contractile vacuole} (Zool.), a pulsating cavity in the
interior of a protozoan, supposed to be excretory in
function. There may be one, two, or more.
[1913 Webster]