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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of convulse
Curry’s body began convulsing and twitching with increasing severity, consistent with him sustaining a traumatic brain injury from being punched in the face, documents state.
—
Deborah Laverty,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Mary Fong Lau, 80, was sentenced to three years of probation, plus 200 hours of community service, for an incident that convulsed the city in 2024.
—
Rachel Swan,
San Francisco Chronicle,
25 Mar. 2026
The refugee crisis that followed—over 1 million Iraqis ultimately fled into Syria—contributed directly to the Syrian civil war that convulsed European politics throughout the 2010s.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
9 Mar. 2026
The war has already convulsed financial markets and led to a spike in oil and gasoline prices and left countries in Latin America bracing for the economic fallout.
—
Bloomberg News,
Boston Herald,
7 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for convulse
Deborah Laverty,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Mar. 2026
Mary Fong Lau, 80, was sentenced to three years of probation, plus 200 hours of community service, for an incident that convulsed the city in 2024.
—
Rachel Swan,
San Francisco Chronicle,
25 Mar. 2026
The refugee crisis that followed—over 1 million Iraqis ultimately fled into Syria—contributed directly to the Syrian civil war that convulsed European politics throughout the 2010s.
—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
9 Mar. 2026
The war has already convulsed financial markets and led to a spike in oil and gasoline prices and left countries in Latin America bracing for the economic fallout.
—
Bloomberg News,
Boston Herald,
7 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for convulse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for convulse
Verb
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Hernández said Rossi Ydrogo had just called his brother in Caracas 20 minutes before the earth started to shake.
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In Venezuela, rescue teams have been racing against the clock to pull survivors from the rubble after two powerful earthquakes shook the northern state of La Guaira last Wednesday.
Verb
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A lot of people are upset by the notion of bringing cage fights to the White House, shuddering at the bad taste of it all.
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Design practices Not knowing ahead of time what lunar explorers may face is an unsure, shuddering proposition.
Verb
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These bees vibrate flowers to release the pollen, improving pollination and fruit set.
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Ongoing work in string theory — the idea that our universe, at its smallest, most fundamental level, is made up of vibrating strings — suggests a way these concepts might be connected.
Verb
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Watching their relationship devolve (never more so than when their sperm donor, a rakish, motorcycle-driving restaurant owner played by Mark Ruffalo, enters the scene) is most definitely a tear-jerking experience, as is the film’s final scene.
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Some were petty — like Reese committing a foul against Clark, then jerking her head back, impersonating Clark as a flopper.
Verb
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Each time the leaves trembled, the sunlight filtering through them also wavered.
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Logic, curated by decades of precedent, suggested the 22-year-old might tremble at the growl of the aggressive, experienced Wolves.
Verb
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Each time, brown leaves that had drifted from distant trees quivered and spun on the surface.
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Her papers quivered in her hand.
Cite this Entry
“Convulse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/convulse. Accessed 30 Jun. 2026.
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