spastic

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
spastic/ˈspastɪk/

▶adjective

• 1 relating to or affected by muscle spasm.

  ■ of or having a form of muscular weakness (spastic paralysis) typical of cerebral palsy, involving reflex resistance to passive movement of the limbs and difficulty in initiating and controlling muscular movement.

• 2 informal, offensive incompetent or uncoordinated.

▶noun

• 1 a person with cerebral palsy.

• 2 informal, offensive an incompetent or uncoordinated person.

– derivatives
spastically adverb,
spasticity noun.

– origin C18: via L. from Gk spastikos ‘pulling’, from span ‘pull’.

usage: In modern use the term spastic is likely to cause offence. It is preferable to use phrasing such as person with cerebral palsy instead.