as in to shake
to make a series of small irregular or violent movements
convulsing with silent laughter as the inept pianist blithely played on
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of convulse
Bangkok has since been convulsed by protests against her government, and a legal petition has demanded her resignation.
—
Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 1 July 2025
Agents pile on a protester, who convulses and struggles to breathe.
—Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
With each pulse of bass and digitized clap, the onstage projection and floodlights strobed, convulsed, and inverted their colors.
—Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 27 June 2025
That all went up in smoke as quickly as a car on the streets of Los Angeles, as the city was convulsed by violent protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
—W. James Antle Iii, The Washington Examiner, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for convulse
Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 1 July 2025
Agents pile on a protester, who convulses and struggles to breathe.
—Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
With each pulse of bass and digitized clap, the onstage projection and floodlights strobed, convulsed, and inverted their colors.
—Olivier Lafontant, Pitchfork, 27 June 2025
That all went up in smoke as quickly as a car on the streets of Los Angeles, as the city was convulsed by violent protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
—W. James Antle Iii, The Washington Examiner, 13 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for convulse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for convulse
Verb
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On back-to-back pass plays, though, Ward held the ball too long and couldn’t shake the Broncos’ pass rush, resulting in back-to-back sacks that took the Titans outside field goal range.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
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After a while, the lady shook her head.—
Bryan Washington,
New Yorker,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The White House will be well aware of this fact, particularly in an environment where fiscally conservative Republicans will be shuddering at Uncle Sam’s $37 trillion (and growing) national debt.—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
20 Aug. 2025
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For much of last season, Atletico appeared set to seriously compete on all fronts, but their season shuddered to a stop in March with a series of disappointing defeats by Barcelona and Madrid across La Liga, Copa del Rey and the Champions League.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Resonance, which is to vibrate with, is the principle of all change.—
Ginny Whitelaw,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
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The imposing gothic details of Victor’s castle-laboratory—a portentous warrior-angel statue that comes to life, a screaming Medusa rondel carved in stone—vibrate with gloomy baroque majesty.—
Stephanie Zacharek,
Time,
30 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The president starts out by making a visit to Liberty Arena to play basketball with some school children, then gets jerked away when the crisis happens.—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
2 Sep. 2025
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If Hall jerked too violently, let alone tried to run, the wire would pull the trigger, firing the shotgun Kiritsis had pointed at the back of Hall’s head.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In the elevator of the Associated Press Building at Rockefeller Plaza, Sunny’s brows trembled.—
Kiran Desai,
New Yorker,
3 Aug. 2025
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But then the cheers from his fans would begin, and Hogan would tremble with energy.—
John DeVore,
Rolling Stone,
26 July 2025
Verb
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The Cabinet is a quivering collection of yea-sayers.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
3 Aug. 2025
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Hamill delivers this monologue with real passion, his raspy voice quivering with sincerity.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
28 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Convulse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/convulse. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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