grand mal
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of grand mal
1875–80; < French: great ailment, epilepsy
Compare meaning
How does grand-mal compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
Family friends told the MV Times that Forté had a seizure last year that required hospitalization and had been taking medicine since then to prevent a grand mal seizure.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026
Rosales suffers from grand mal seizures; her mother has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 18, 2023
At first, the neuropsychiatrist was "jarred" by the sight of a grand mal seizure.
From Salon • Sep. 4, 2023
Iska, his daughter with Ana Maria, had lived with brain damage before dying of a grand mal seizure in 1985 at age 14.
From New York Times • Mar. 2, 2023
L� est le grand mal qu’a fait la Convention du 15 Juillet, l� est le grand obstacle � la politique et � la paix.
From The Greville Memoirs (Second Part) A Journal of the Reign of Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1852 (Volume 1 of 3) by Greville, Charles
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.