convulse

See also: convulsé

English

Etymology

From Latin convulsus, past participle of convellere (“to pluck up, dislocate, convulse”), from com- (“together”) + vellere (“to pluck, pull”). Doublet of convel.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kənˈvʌls/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌls

Verb

convulse (third-person singular simple present convulses, present participle convulsing, simple past and past participle convulsed)

1. (intransitive) To suffer violent involuntary contractions of the muscles, causing one's body to contort.
   • 1999, Mona Lee, Alien Child, page 278:

     He realized she was crying. He could feel her body convulsing with little sobs and her cheek was wet where it brushed his.

2. (intransitive, figurative) To be beset by political or social upheaval.
   • 1988, Carroll Stuhlmueller, Rebuilding with Hope: A Commentary on the Books of Haggai and Zechariah, page 12:

     The Persian Empire was convulsing with intrigue, revolt, and civil war.

3. (transitive) To cause (someone) to suffer such contractions, especially as a result of making them laugh heartily.
   • 1882, William Montgomery Clemens, Famous Funny Fellows: Brief Biographical Sketches of American Humorists, pages 28–29:

     But while he was convulsing all London with laughter, he was fast falling a victim to consumption.

Derived terms

• unconvulsed

 

Related terms

• convulsant
• convulsible
• convulsion
• convulsive

Translations

to violently shake

• Bulgarian: треса се (tresa se), получавам конвулсии (polučavam konvulsii)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 劇烈震動／剧烈震动 (kek⁶ lit⁶ zan³ dung⁶)

• French: convulser (fr)
• German: erschüttern (de)
• Japanese: 振動させる (しんどう-させる, shindō-saseru)
• Manx: co-leayst
• Portuguese: convulsionar (pt), convelir
• Quechua: arqhepay
• Spanish: convulsionar (es), crispar (es)
• Swedish: skaka (sv), kikna (sv)
• Turkish: sarsmak (tr)

to suffer violent uncontrollable contractions of the muscles

• Dutch: stuiptrekken (nl)
• Indonesian: kejang (id)
• Maori: hūkeke
• Spanish: convulsionar(se)

Further reading

• “convulse”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “convulse”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Italian

Adjective

convulse

1. feminine plural of convulso

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /konˈu̯ul.se/, [kɔnˈu̯ʊɫ̪s̠ɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /konˈvul.se/, [koɱˈvulse]

Participle

convulse

1. vocative masculine singular of convulsus

Portuguese

Verb

convulse

1. inflection of convulsar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative