epileptic
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Usage
Rather than talking about an epileptic or epileptics , it is better to talk about a person with epilepsy and people with epilepsy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of epileptic
First recorded in 1600–10; from Late Latin epilēpticus, from Greek epilēptikós, from epílēpt(os) ( see epilepsy) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
Anything described as epileptic is related to the nervous system disorder that can cause convulsions. An epileptic seizure often makes the body shake uncontrollably. Both epileptic and epilepsy come from a Greek root that means "to seize." It's a good description of an epileptic event, in which a person shakes or moves convulsively as though something has taken hold of them. The causes of this disorder aren't fully understood. Though it was once common to describe a person with epilepsy as an epileptic, it's rarely used that way today.
Vocabulary lists containing epileptic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the Resilience Department, visitors can don headphones to listen to sounds recorded by Canada-based artist Margüi during an epileptic seizure for a piece titled “Unbreakable.”
From Los Angeles Times • May 20, 2026
Abbott watches EEG results, which are really a training screen showing “status epilepticus,” an epileptic seizure.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
"In another child, the therapy completely suppressed metabolic crises that occurred almost monthly, while another patient no longer suffered from epileptic seizures."
From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026
Spier, who lives in Zurich, was skiing with his family and on the ride home suffered an epileptic fit.
From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026
An epileptic seizure creates the same effect as shivering in icy water.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
