1
as in cramp
a painful sudden tightening of a muscle
he suffers terribly from back spasms
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2
as in burst
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling
a spasm of love that he had never experienced before
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spasm
About 1% of the US population has axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), a rare form of inflammatory arthritis that can cause severe joint pain, muscle spasms, stiffness, and discomfort throughout the body.
—
Cheyenne Buckingham, SELF, 24 Oct. 2025
Reid said right guard Trey Smith would miss the day’s session due to back spasms.
—Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2025
Threw five gutsy innings in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series after overcoming painful spasms in his neck and upper right trapezius.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Wright said Ad Land’s contribution to paying off the annual rights bill has been remarkably consistent over the last 10 years, holding steady at around that 50% mark despite a range of marketplace disruptions and various spasms at the macroeconomic level.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spasm
Cheyenne Buckingham, SELF, 24 Oct. 2025
Reid said right guard Trey Smith would miss the day’s session due to back spasms.
—Pete Sweeney, Kansas City Star, 23 Oct. 2025
Threw five gutsy innings in Game 7 of the 2019 World Series after overcoming painful spasms in his neck and upper right trapezius.
—Ken Rosenthal, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025
Wright said Ad Land’s contribution to paying off the annual rights bill has been remarkably consistent over the last 10 years, holding steady at around that 50% mark despite a range of marketplace disruptions and various spasms at the macroeconomic level.
—Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 16 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for spasm
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spasm
Noun
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Kansas Jayhawks freshman point guard Darryn Peterson, who played just five minutes in the second half of KU’s Monday season opener against Green Bay because of a recurring bout with cramps, practiced Tuesday night and again Wednesday.—
Gary Bedore,
Kansas City Star,
5 Nov. 2025
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Symptoms may include diarrhea, cramps, nausea, headaches or other ailments.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Despite the generally mild outlook, meteorologists are watching key atmospheric factors that could create bursts of intense snow, like expected next week when an early-season lake-effect snow is expected to impact the Great Lakes.—
Brandi D. Addison,
Freep.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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Comedian and actress Atsuko Okatsuka opened the ceremony with a burst of laughter and energy.—
Ryma Chikhoune,
Footwear News,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Local media also reported that several explosions were heard before the fire began.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
PEOPLE,
9 Nov. 2025
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Jonathan Taylor’s offensive explosion helped push the Indianapolis Colts past the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday in the first NFL regular-season game in Berlin, 31-25, in overtime.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
9 Nov. 2025
Noun
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These outbursts send radiation and charged particles hurling into space and can disrupt communications on Earth if the flare erupts from an Earth-facing sunspot.—
Daisy Dobrijevic,
Space.com,
5 Nov. 2025
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This outburst was mysterious at the time and remains mysterious.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Whereas Balle’s first two books are inward and meditative, her third witnesses an eruption of politics.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
10 Nov. 2025
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In 2022, debris from an underwater volcanic eruption severed the island's only subsea communication cable, cutting the island off from the rest of the world.—
Magdalena Petrova,
CNBC,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Everything is dark around us, but the collision itself is a source of energy and the flash of it lights us up.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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The storm has strengthened into the equivalent of a Category 4 Hurricane and is expected to hit central Vietnam Thursday night — an area that hasn’t yet recovered from disastrous flash flooding and landslides caused by weeks of record rainfall and successive storms.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Sustained, strong winds with even stronger gusts are happening.—
CA Weather Bot,
Sacbee.com,
6 Nov. 2025
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The strongest wind gusts were reported over coastal ridges in excess of 75 mph.—
Anna Skinner,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spasm.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spasm. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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