Wordnet 3.0
ADJECTIVE (2)
1.
of or related to the synthetic phase of metabolism;
2.
characterized by or promoting constructive metabolism;
- Example: "some athletes take anabolic steroids to increase muscle size temporarily"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Anabolic \An`a*bol"ic\, a. [Gr. ? something heaped up; ? + ? a
stroke.] (Physiol.)
Pertaining to anabolism; an anabolic changes, or processes,
more or less constructive in their nature.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
anabolic
adj 1: of or related to the synthetic phase of metabolism
2: characterized by or promoting constructive metabolism; "some
athletes take anabolic steroids to increase muscle size
temporarily" [ant: catabolic, katabolic]