Paroxysms Definition & Meaning

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Paroxysm didn't just burst onto the scene recently; its roots go back to ancient Greek. The word ultimately derives from the Greek paroxynein, which means "to stimulate." Oxynein, a parent of paroxynein, means "to provoke" or "to sharpen" and comes from oxys, a Greek word for "sharp." (That root also underlies the word oxygen.) In its earliest known English uses in the 15th century, paroxysm denoted agitation or intensification of a disease or its symptoms. (A still-used example of that sense is "a paroxysm of coughing.") Additionally, paroxysm soon took on a broader sense referring to an outburst, especially a dramatic physical or emotional one.

Examples of paroxysm in a Sentence

He went into paroxysms of laughter. a paroxysm of laughter greeted the pratfall

Recent Examples on the Web Much better, the patient exclaimed, but then exploded into a paroxysm of coughing. — New York Times, 16 Feb. 2022 The events themselves took a matter of minutes to unfold in a paroxysm of one-sided gunfire that snuffed out more than a dozen lives, each one of them a new martyr in Northern Ireland’s somber annals of loss. — Alan Cowell, BostonGlobe.com, 29 Jan. 2022 The events themselves took a matter of minutes to unfold in a paroxysm of one-sided gunfire that snuffed out more than a dozen lives, each one of them a new martyr in Northern Ireland’s somber annals of loss. — New York Times, 29 Jan. 2022 If scientists can collect ash that was produced both prior to and during the paroxysm, the different chemical and textural features of both sets of particles will reveal the explosion’s trigger. — Robin Andrews, Wired, 20 Jan. 2022 As these images played to a global audience riveted by the drama at the airport, the West, in a paroxysm of regret, opened its arms to Afghan refugees. — New York Times, 10 Dec. 2021 Foreign leaders are wondering just how long the break from Trumpism will last and whether the nation that once stabilized the world will pitch it into a new paroxysm of populist nationalism if Trump is reelected in 2024. — Stephen Collinson, CNN, 1 Nov. 2021 This, in turn, touched off a paroxysm of media takes about whether such confrontations broke the bounds of civility. — Jason Linkins, The New Republic, 9 Oct. 2021 That may be sufficient to save the lives of many, either from the paroxysm itself or any subsequent tsunami. — New York Times, 18 Mar. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'paroxysm.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.