n. [ Gr. katatonos, stretching down, depressed, fr. kata` down + to`nos stretching, straining, tone (sound). Stedman. ] (Psychiatry) an abnormal behavioral syndrome characterized by stupor, negativism, and muscular rigidity, sometimes alternating with purposeless excitement, and seen most frequently in schizophrenia; called also catatonic schizophrenia. [ PJC ]