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.

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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

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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-

Explanation

To convulse is to have spasms. Get help immediately if you see someone convulse. This medical condition can be brought on by something simple (like a rise in body temperature) or something more complicated, such as epilepsy. In addition to being a symptom of a medical condition, to convulse is often applied to people shaking with laughter. So if you go to a club and see a hilarious comedian, you may convulse with laughter so hard that you might cry, or not be able to catch your breath, and your sides hurt.

Example Sentences

Oil markets could convulse if Tehran disrupted Gulf shipping.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2026

Then Hipolito’s body began to convulse — a possible seizure.

From Salon • Jan. 14, 2026

I’m well past that point; some of his stories and novels I’ve read dozens, even hundreds of times, and they can still make me convulse in laughter.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 18, 2025

From the start and all the way through, dancers collapse, convulse and quickly rise so frequently that it seems this sequence of motions is contagious, although the repetition doesn’t gain meaning or emotional resonance.

From New York Times • Aug. 12, 2022

He was very thin and perpetually astonished and somewhat gap-toothed, and his manner of talking alone was enough to convulse them, and he enjoyed it.

From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara

Related Words

• shake up
• torment