apoplexy

American  

[ap-uh-plek-see] / ˈæp əˌplɛk si /

noun

1. stroke.

2. a sudden, usually marked loss of bodily function due to rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel.

3. a hemorrhage into an organ cavity or tissue.

4. a state of extreme anger.

---

apoplexy British  

/ ˈæpəˌplɛksɪ /

noun

1. sudden loss of consciousness, often followed by paralysis, caused by rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel in the brain

---

Etymology

Origin of apoplexy

1350–1400; Middle English apoplexie < Late Latin < Greek, equivalent to apóplēkt ( os ) ( apoplectic ) + -ia -y ³

Explanation

Apoplexy is a sudden and often fatal fit resulting from blood vessels bursting in the brain. The 19th century character Madame Bovary became a widow because of it. Today, we generally call it "a stroke," but apoplexy sounds way better. Although apoplexy as a specific medical term is not such a common term now, the word apoplectic certainly is, meaning furious and red-faced with uncontrollable rage (so called because its symptoms of flushed red face and loss of bodily control mimic those of apoplexy). Often used humorously — apoplectic is how you might describe your parents when they see your grades — though there's nothing funny about a real apoplectic fit.

Example Sentences

It’s hard to pin down the moment in “Oh, Mary!,” a comedy about Mary Todd Lincoln, that will send Lincoln scholars and purists into apoplexy.

From New York Times • Feb. 7, 2024

The ease with which Levin moves from apoplexy to calm tells me that the rage is a rhetorical flourish that substitutes for the logic his arguments lack.

From Slate • Jun. 4, 2020

“If you’re going to dismiss everything as a hoax, you’d better have something clear to replace it,” he said, his voice rising toward apoplexy.

From The New Yorker • May 30, 2018

Just as every generation prepares to hand the keys over to the next, its more bitter and resentful members demonstrate the apocalyptic apoplexy of self-centered illusion.

From Salon • Dec. 18, 2016

But not yet, the men on the other side were waiting, red faces swollen as though from apoplexy as they bent forward in their chairs.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison