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
Max Muncy popped out and Kyle Tucker, back in the lineup after exiting Monday’s game because of back spasms, flied out.
—
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2026
Toronto’s Marina Mabrey was a late scratch due to neck spasms, one game after tying the league record with 53 points in a 125-97 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks.
—
ABC News,
27 June 2026
In van Dongen’s case, the pinching motion required to hold a dart would trigger the spasms.
—
Kansas City Star,
24 June 2026
Even before the back spasms, Tucker was having his worst season by far.
—
Stephen J. Nesbitt,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
Some patients develop spasms of the vocal cords that obstruct the airway.
—
Faye Chiu,
CNN Money,
23 June 2026
Tucker left in the second with low back spasms, and Rushing was pulled in the third to get checked for a concussion.
—
CBS News,
22 June 2026
Glasnow left his start in Houston on May 6 after just one inning with back spasms.
—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
7 June 2026
The South Side once contained a lot of those tragically disappointing high-rises — the Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, and Harold Ickes Homes, all demolished in spasms of righteous destruction.
—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
4 June 2026
Maddie Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2026
Toronto’s Marina Mabrey was a late scratch due to neck spasms, one game after tying the league record with 53 points in a 125-97 victory over the Los Angeles Sparks.
—
ABC News,
27 June 2026
In van Dongen’s case, the pinching motion required to hold a dart would trigger the spasms.
—
Kansas City Star,
24 June 2026
Even before the back spasms, Tucker was having his worst season by far.
—
Stephen J. Nesbitt,
New York Times,
24 June 2026
Some patients develop spasms of the vocal cords that obstruct the airway.
—
Faye Chiu,
CNN Money,
23 June 2026
Tucker left in the second with low back spasms, and Rushing was pulled in the third to get checked for a concussion.
—
CBS News,
22 June 2026
Glasnow left his start in Houston on May 6 after just one inning with back spasms.
—
Bill Plunkett,
Oc Register,
7 June 2026
The South Side once contained a lot of those tragically disappointing high-rises — the Robert Taylor Homes, Stateway Gardens, and Harold Ickes Homes, all demolished in spasms of righteous destruction.
—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
4 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spasms
Noun
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When heat index values rise above 103, changes start happening in the human body, which can lead to cramps and heat exhaustion.
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Other signs include nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, loss of appetite and bloating.
Noun
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From Friday to Sunday, singers and alphorn players filled the streets and spontaneous bursts of yodeling echoed through restaurants, where diners initially reacted with surprise before joining in.
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San Francisco real estate agent Butch Haze of Compass has seen tech booms followed by ravenous bursts of homebuying since the first internet gold rush of the late 1990s.
Noun
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Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv, a Reuters witness said.
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Instead of focusing narrowly on one object at a time, the observatory will sweep across huge areas of sky, building an archive of stars, galaxies, asteroids and cosmic explosions.
Noun
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Public outbursts remain relatively uncommon, making this week's intervention particularly revealing.
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There have been intermittent outbursts of violence against immigrants since then.
Noun
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Several of these eruptions were accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that appear to be at least partially Earth-directed.
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The most powerful solar flares are X-class solar flares, and forecasters at NOAA observed one of these eruptions on Tuesday.
Noun
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Morel’s career arc had previously included flashes of legitimate middle-order production.
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Swift was originally designed to study a rare type of transient called gamma-ray bursts—seconds-long flashes of gamma-ray light that arise from the most energetic explosions in the universe.
Noun
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Wind gusts of up to 40 mph are forecast across the fire-danger zones, and relative humidity is expected to fall between 8% and 15%, meaning conditions are ripe for any new fires to rapidly spread.
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Severe wind gusts and intense lightning are possible with any storm that develops.
Cite this Entry
“Spasms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spasms. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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