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con·vulse | \ kən-ˈvəls 
\
\convulsed; convulsing
Definition of convulse
: to shake or agitate violently especially : to shake with or as if with irregular spasms was convulsed with laughter
: to become affected with convulsions
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Synonyms for convulse
Synonyms
- agitate,
- bucket,
- jerk,
- jiggle,
- joggle,
- jolt,
- jounce,
- judder
- [chiefly British],
- quake,
- quiver,
- shake,
- shudder,
- vibrate,
- wobble
- (also wabble)
Examples of convulse in a Sentence
The patient reacted to the medication and began convulsing.
The country was convulsed by war.
Recent Examples on the Web As a sense of crisis convulsed California and the nation, tourists in Southern California enjoyed their last few hours at Disneyland, which was closed as of Saturday.
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Tim Arango, New York Times, "To Battle Virus, 6 California Counties Order Everyone to Stay Home," 16 Mar. 2020 Videos circulated on social media show scenes of convulsing patients and people being tended to by doctors wearing hazmat suits.
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Spencer Neale, Washington Examiner, "Tom Cotton demands 'answers' after China state newspaper says coronavirus originated outside wildlife market," 22 Feb. 2020 In 2018, the country stopped taking imports of plastic waste, convulsing recycling markets from the U.S. to India.
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Stephanie Yang, WSJ, "The Last Straw? China Tries to Trash Single-Use Plastic," 21 Jan. 2020 In some cases in which midazolam was used, death row inmates appeared to struggle or convulse during the execution process.
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Steve Almasy, CNN, "Another Tennessee murderer chooses electric chair over lethal injection," 5 Dec. 2019 On April 3, 2017 an attack on Khan Sheikhoun left residents gasping for breath and convulsing in the streets and overcrowded hospitals.
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Yuras Karmanau, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Former rebel stronghold in Syria begins to rebuild," 25 Sep. 2019 Sudan has also been convulsed by rebellions in its far-flung provinces for decades, and the power-sharing agreement calls for the government to reach a peace agreement with the rebels within six months.
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Washington Post, "Sudan’s top general sworn in as leader of new ruling body," 22 Aug. 2019 At George Washington University, a student’s video — which included a graphic indicating that it was filmed on the Jewish New Year’s holiday of Rosh Hashanah — convulsed the campus earlier this year.
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Washington Post, "Trump’s executive order on anti-Semitism plunges into the fierce campus conflicts about Israel and Palestine," 11 Dec. 2019 The issue of migration has convulsed Europe since the influx of more than a million people in 2015 and 2016, fleeing violence and poverty in the Mideast, Afghanistan and Africa.
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Washington Post, "European money spawns more misery for migrants in Libya," 31 Dec. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'convulse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for convulse
convulse
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of convulse
medical : to have an experience in which the muscles in your body shake in a sudden violent way that you are not able to control : to experience convulsions
formal : to affect (someone or something) suddenly and violently
See the full definition for convulse in the English Language Learners Dictionary
convulse
verbcon·vulse | \ kən-ˈvəls \
\convulsed; convulsing
Kids Definition of convulse
: to shake violently or with jerky motions
I convulsed with laughter.
convulse
verbcon·vulse | \ kən-ˈvəls \
\convulsed; convulsing
Medical Definition of convulse
: to shake or agitate violently especially : to shake or cause to shake with or as if with irregular spasms was convulsed with pain
: to become affected with convulsions some children will inevitably convulse when fever reaches a high point— H. R. Litchfield & L. H. Dembo
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Time Traveler for convulse
The first known use of convulse was in 1614
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