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Definition of convulsion noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

convulsion

noun
 
/kənˈvʌlʃn/
 
/kənˈvʌlʃn/
[usually plural] (rather formal)
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  1. a sudden shaking movement of the body that cannot be controlled synonym fit
    • The child went into convulsions.
    • in convulsions He fell to the ground in convulsions.
    Extra Examples
    • The patient lost consciousness and went into convulsions.
    • He felt a sudden convulsion of fear at the pit of his stomach.
    • She started to have convulsions again.
    • The drug can cause paranoia, memory loss and convulsions.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • violent
    • sudden
    verb + convulsion
    • go into
    • have
    • suffer
    See full entry
  2. a sudden important change that happens to a country or an organization synonym upheaval
    • political convulsions threatening the stability of new democracies
  3. Word Originmid 16th cent. (originally in the sense ‘cramp, spasm’): from Latin convulsio(n-), from the verb convellere, from con- ‘together’ + vellere ‘to pull’.
See convulsion in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee convulsion in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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