convulse
To suffer violent involuntary contractions of the muscles, causing one's body to contortTo suffer violent involuntary contractions of the muscles, causing one's body to contort.
» His whole body seemed uncontrollably convulsing.
Meaning
4 senses(intransitive)To suffer violent involuntary contractions of the muscles, causing one's body to contort.
(figuratively, intransitive)To be beset by political or social upheaval.
(transitive)To cause (someone) to suffer such contractions, especially as a result of making them laugh heartily.
(transitive)To cause disruption to.
cause to contract
Examples
9 sentencesHis whole body seemed uncontrollably convulsing.
He’s convulsing wildly on the ground.
Rodrigo convulsed on the floor and died.
A cruel mental illness befell me, and convulsed my brain quite horribly.
deEine grausame Geisteskrankheit befiel mich und sie erschütterte ganz fürchterlich mein Hirn. — al_ex_an_der
She writhed as one who is in terrible pain, and her limbs were dreadfully convulsed.
Translations
5 languagesBy meaning 1
Origin
From Latin convulsus, past participle of convellere (“to pluck up, dislocate, convulse”),From Latin convulsus, past participle of convellere (“to pluck up, dislocate, convulse”), from com- (“together”) + vellere (“to pluck, pull”). Doublet of convel.
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Forms
convulses, convulsing, convulsed, convulsedSynonyms
7 synonyms- move or stir about violently:threshthresh aboutthrashthrash aboutslashtossjactitate
Word family
5 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle