glioblastoma

noun

glio·​blas·​to·​ma ˌglī-ō-ˌbla-ˈstō-mə 

variants or less commonly glioblastoma multiforme

-ˌməlt-ə-ˈfȯrm-ē 

plural glioblastomas also glioblastomata ˌglī-ō-ˌbla-ˈstō-mə-tə  or glioblastomas multiforme or glioblastoma multiformes

: a malignant rapidly growing astrocytoma of the central nervous system and usually of a cerebral hemisphere

Examples of glioblastoma in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Mike Hugo, 37, said he was diagnosed four years ago with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer that can lead to death within months rather than years. —Joe Walsh, CBS News, 26 Apr. 2026

Cox died Thursday from glioblastoma, a cancer of the brain. —Helen Branswell, STAT, 25 Apr. 2026

Born in Los Angeles, the celebrity conductor and former child prodigy died Wednesday of glioblastoma, a representative for Tilson Thomas confirmed to The Times. —Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026

The legendary conductor Michael Tilson Thomas died yesterday, at the age of eighty-one, of glioblastoma. —Austin Elias-De Jesus, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from glia glia + blast- + -oma

First Known Use

circa 1923, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for glioblastoma

• ambystoma
• atheroma
• carcinoma
• coloboma
• granuloma
• haematoma
• hamartoma
• hemangioma
• hematoma
• hepatoma
• hybridoma
• melanoma

Medical Definition

glioblastoma

noun

glio·​blas·​to·​ma ˌglī-(ˌ)ō-bla-ˈstō-mə 

plural glioblastomas also glioblastomata -mət-ə 

: a malignant rapidly growing astrocytoma of the central nervous system and usually of a cerebral hemisphere

Glioblastoma is the worst grade of malignant glioma, a relatively uncommon but deadly class of brain tumors that kills 97% of those diagnosed within 5 years.

—Greg Miller, Science

called also glioblastoma multiforme