1
as in cramps
a painful sudden tightening of a muscle
he suffers terribly from back spasms
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in bursts
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling
a spasm of love that he had never experienced before
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spasms
According to the Cleveland Clinic, symptoms typically include changes to vision, muscle weakness, spasms, numbness, loss of balance and cognitive impairment.
—
Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2025
Talk to your doctor if bladder issues or leg spasms are keeping you awake.
—Health, 23 Aug. 2025
But his spasms, vexingly, grew more frequent and severe.
—Tao Lin, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
However, swapping out classic sodium chloride for sodium bromide is a solid way to give yourself acne, involuntary muscle spasms, and paranoid psychosis.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025
One customer who was having muscle spasms and neck stiffness said this massager took away the pain within just three days of use.
—Rachel Trujillo, People.com, 21 Dec. 2024
Backup offensive tackle Ryan Van Demark made a spot start against the Chiefs in Week 11 and also got some time at right tackle against the Lions after Brown suffered some neck spasms.
—Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024
Dion received the diagnosis in 2022 and later had to cancel her world tour due to muscle spasms and rigidity.
—Fred Topel, Deadline, 8 Dec. 2024
Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Aug. 2025
Talk to your doctor if bladder issues or leg spasms are keeping you awake.
—Health, 23 Aug. 2025
But his spasms, vexingly, grew more frequent and severe.
—Tao Lin, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
However, swapping out classic sodium chloride for sodium bromide is a solid way to give yourself acne, involuntary muscle spasms, and paranoid psychosis.
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025
One customer who was having muscle spasms and neck stiffness said this massager took away the pain within just three days of use.
—Rachel Trujillo, People.com, 21 Dec. 2024
Backup offensive tackle Ryan Van Demark made a spot start against the Chiefs in Week 11 and also got some time at right tackle against the Lions after Brown suffered some neck spasms.
—Joe Buscaglia, The Athletic, 16 Dec. 2024
Dion received the diagnosis in 2022 and later had to cancel her world tour due to muscle spasms and rigidity.
—Fred Topel, Deadline, 8 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spasms
Noun
-
Symptoms of nicotine poisoning can include abdominal cramps, confusion, seizures, loss of consciousness, headache and vomiting.—
Jacqueline Howard,
CNN Money,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Common symptoms of Vibrio infection include diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, dangerously low blood pressure and blistering lesions.—
Phaedra Trethan,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The palate bursts with rich, agave-forward flavors, revealing curious floral nuances of geranium and sweet spices.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
The bursts packed a punch, uprooting even mature trees in the Carmichael area, and disrupting power to thousands of Sacramento Municipal Utility District customers.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The test marked a welcome victory for SpaceX and the budding launch vehicle, which suffered in-flight upper stage explosions during each of this year's three Starship launches leading up to Flight 10.—
Josh Dinner,
Space.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
The barrage appeared to target several Ukrainian regions, with local authorities reporting explosions in the western regions of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Lutsk.—
David Brennan,
ABC News,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
But when his streams became more reactionary, filled with outbursts, expletives, and certified crashouts over losing levels, subscribers flocked in.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
5 Sep. 2025
-
This student’s outbursts had been an ongoing issue for three years, and Elliot quickly realized that few teachers had received the necessary restraint training to handle this student.—
IndyStar,
IndyStar,
3 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The researchers see applications in monitoring sandstorms, volcanic eruptions, and other airborne hazards.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Ancient eruptions have formed dark layers of lava rock interbedded with pumice and pyroclastic flow deposits.—
David Bressan,
Forbes.com,
2 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
As the number one overall pick last year, Williams somewhat underperformed as a rookie, but some of that can be attributed to poor coaching, and the former Heisman Trophy winner showed flashes of brilliance at times.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
-
Tyler Glasnow has shown unhittable flashes.—
The Athletic MLB Staff,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Anticipate quarter-sized hail (1 inch) and wind gusts of up to 60 mph.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The tornado would be classified at the top of the Fujita Scale — an F5 — with gusts of more than 200 mph.—
Nathan Pilling,
Kansas City Star,
5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spasms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spasms. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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