convulsive

1 marked by sudden or violent disturbance the assassination of Martin Luther King was one of the most convulsive events of the 1960s Synonyms cataclysmal (or cataclysmic), stormy, tempestuous, tumultuous, turbulent Related Words fitful, spasmodic, sporadic; boisterous, clamorous, furious, noisy, riotous Near Antonyms calm, peaceful, placid, serene, tranquil, undisturbed, unperturbed, unshaken, untroubled

2 marked by bursts of destructive force or intense activity after a day of convulsive trading, the stock market was down 300 points Synonyms bang-bang, blood-and-guts, violent, cyclonic, explosive, ferocious, fierce, furious, hammer-and-tongs, hot, knock-down, drag-out (or knock-down-and-drag-out), paroxysmal, rabid, rough, stormy, tempestuous, tumultuous, turbulent, volcanicRelated Words barbarous, brutal, savage, vicious; antagonistic, hostile; aggressive, assertive, bellicose, belligerent, combative, contentious, gladiatorial, pugnacious, quarrelsome, truculent; combustible, volatile; agitated, frantic, frenzied, mad; cataclysmal (or cataclysmic), destructive, ruinousNear Antonyms calm, halcyon, pacific, serene, tranquil; nonbelligerent, unaggressiveAntonyms nonviolent, peaceable, peaceful