convulse

American  

[kuhn-vuhls] / kənˈvʌls /

verb (used with object)

convulsed, convulsing

1. to shake violently; agitate.

2. to cause to shake violently with laughter, anger, pain, etc.

3. to cause to suffer violent, spasmodic contractions of the muscles.

---

convulse British  

/ kənˈvʌls /

verb

1. (tr) to shake or agitate violently

2. (tr) to cause (muscles) to undergo violent spasms or contractions

3. informal to shake or be overcome (with violent emotion, esp laughter)

4. (tr) to disrupt the normal running of (a country, etc)

   student riots have convulsed India

---

Other Word Forms

• convulsedly adverb
• convulsibility noun
• convulsible adjective
• convulsive adjective
• convulsively adverb
• convulsiveness noun
• unconvulsed adjective

Etymology

Origin of convulse

First recorded in 1635–45; from Latin convulsus, past participle of convellere “to shatter, tear loose,” equivalent to con- intensive prefix + vul- (variant stem of vellere “to pull, tear”) + -sus, variant of -tus past participle suffix; con-

Example Sentences

The man’s eyes rolled back in his head and he started convulsing.

From Salon

Last week, after Oracle reported unexpectedly high capital expenditures on chips, networking equipment and other infrastructure, the bond market convulsed, raising the cost of capital for many large tech companies.

From The Wall Street Journal

A random shiver goes through my body, making me convulse for a second; then it’s gone.

From Literature

In late September 2008, as the world and Britain especially was convulsed by its biggest ever financial crisis, the Conservative Party published an obscure pamphlet titled "Reconstruction".

From BBC

Last December, a Unitree bot fell over and started convulsing at a demonstration, drawing online mockery.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• shake up
• torment