paroxysm

Definitions  ·  Examples  ·  Pronunciations  ·  Etymologies  ·  Related  ·  Statistics  ·  Comments (3)  · 
“
This paroxysm is the direct opposite of hypnotism, and it is singular that it has not been tried in Europe as well as clairvoyance.

View all »
Definitions (8)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (3)

  1. noun A sudden outburst of emotion or action: a paroxysm of laughter.
  2. noun A sudden attack, recurrence, or intensification of a disease.
  3. noun A spasm or fit; a convulsion.

Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (3)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

Toggle WordNet definitions WordNet (1)

Toggle elsewhere links Elsewhere on the web

View all »
Examples (50)

More examples »
 

Tags

Sign up or sign in to add tags.

Stats

This word has been looked up 212 times.

stop updating
On Twitter

Photos from

flickr images

Add a related word »
Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

spasm ·  twinge ·  throes ·  outburst ·  frenzy ·  tremor ·  undercurrent ·  spurt ·  brimful ·  surge ·  exclamation ·  gust
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English paroxism, periodic attack of a disease, from Medieval Latin paroxysmus, from Greek paroxusmos, from paroxūnein, to stimulate, irritate : para-, intensive pref.; see para-1 + oxūnein, to goad, sharpen (from oxus, sharp; see ak- in Indo-European roots).

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. from French paroxysme = Spanish Portuguese paroxismo = Italian parossismo, parosismo, from Middle Latin paroxysmus, from Greek παροξυσμός, irritation, the severe fit of a disease, from παροξύνειν, sharpen, irritate, from παρά, beside, + ὀξύνειν, sharpen, from ὀξύς sharp.
 

Pronunciations
Record your own »
/ˈpærəksɪzm/
by American Heritage

Charts
frequency chart

Bubble size: how much this word was used in a year

Bubble height: used more or less than expected, vs. all uses evenly distributed

You can expect to see this word about twice a year.

Recently looked up

wrt · sexting · oxymoron · interlocutors · discombobulated

Recent Favorites

pygopagus · sanglant · Astacus · sweetbread · qualms

Recent Pronunciations

Kansas City · spell it rite · put it in your pocket · A fly and a flea flew into a flue · She sells seashells by the seashore