1
2

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective spasmodic contrast with its synonyms?

The words convulsive and fitful are common synonyms of spasmodic. While all three words mean "lacking steadiness or regularity in movement," spasmodic adds to fitful the implication of rapid or violent activity alternating with inactivity.

spasmodic growth

When is convulsive a more appropriate choice than spasmodic?

The synonyms convulsive and spasmodic are sometimes interchangeable, but convulsive suggests the breaking of regularity or quiet by uncontrolled movement.

convulsive shocks

When is it sensible to use fitful instead of spasmodic?

While in some cases nearly identical to spasmodic, fitful implies intermittence, a succession of starts and stops or risings and fallings.

fitful sleep

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of spasmodic Wearing a bowler hat, his physical movements and magnetic smile often mirrored the spasmodic motion of the songs. Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2024 Colicky pain occurs as sudden spasmodic abdominal pain that occurs in cycles and then resolves. Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 12 July 2024 Kennedy has also previously suggested that his spasmodic dysphonia, a neurological disorder that can impact voice and speech, is a side effect of the flu vaccine. Solcyré Burga, TIME, 16 July 2024 Tragically, Linda Thompson can’t sing anymore due to a medical condition called spasmodic dysphonia. Tribune News Service, New York Daily News, 1 July 2024 See All Example Sentences for spasmodic
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spasmodic
Adjective
  • More recently, the Trump administration’s sporadic tariff changes have made future prices more uncertain, which exposes people to risks.
    Sophie Mitra, The Conversation, 1 May 2025
  • The bench was sporadic during the regular season, and outside of Mitchell Robinson and Cam Payne’s performance in the fourth quarter of Game 1, the bench has been nonexistent this playoffs.
    James L. Edwards III, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Its participants are easily excitable and just as effortlessly aggrieved, their collective nervous system tied somewhat intrinsically to social media notifications.
    Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 17 Apr. 2025
  • And if Django’s Billy Crash tapped into Goggins’s ability to thrive with brutal spite, Mannix plays more to Goggins’s excitable energy and capacity for being clever (even when his character seems to be anything but).
    Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 6 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Consistency turns occasional readers into followers who can predict your stance on related issues.
    Jodie Cook, Forbes.com, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Those posts often highlight the overconfident way the AI Overview frames its idiomatic explanations and occasional problems with the model confabulating sources that don't exist.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • Dellow was nervous about rush hour traffic, but the Uber dropped Nikishin off at 6:45 p.m. at the airport.
    Peter Baugh, New York Times, 1 May 2025
  • Your younger colleague is nervous about each conversation.
    Jay Sullivan, Forbes.com, 30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • The pair are searching for the source of a particular beep: the intermittent ping that a smoke alarm makes when its battery is running low.
    Kirk Johnson, New Yorker, 23 Apr. 2025
  • Based on the research, participants lost about 7 to 11 pounds over 10 weeks while intermittent fasting.18 Remember, fad diets are not healthy for you, especially long term.
    Sohaib Imtiaz, Verywell Health, 23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • And then all of the sudden all of these people come over and start dropping turkey and stuffing all over the ground.
    Raven Brunner, People.com, 1 May 2025
  • Then, all of a sudden, one of those teams had one of the top five players in the league fall right in its lap.
    Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 1 May 2025
Adjective
  • But Trump’s erratic purge of the federal workforce has undermined those very efforts.
    Brian Bennett, Time, 28 Apr. 2025
  • In the meantime, crowds braved erratic weather for a festive opening weekend, and even early on a Monday morning, neighbors had already begun to converge, attracted by the new sod, tender trees, and open plaza that makes this 165-year-old wedge of nature look fresh and young again.
    Justin Davidson, Curbed, 28 Apr. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Spasmodic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spasmodic. Accessed 9 May. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on spasmodic

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!