Apoplexy

//ˈæp.ə.plɛk.si// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Unconsciousness or incapacity resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke. countable, dated, uncountable
  2. 2
    a sudden loss of consciousness resulting when the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain wordnet
  3. 3
    Unconsciousness or incapacity resulting from a cerebral hemorrhage or stroke.; Gross hemorrhage into a cavity or into the substance of an organ. countable, dated, uncountable
  4. 4
    A state of intense and almost uncontrollable anger. countable, informal, uncountable

    "Ten Straight White Males die of a mysterious disease and the nation has apoplexy — Headlines — TV Reports — Sympathy. MONEY comes pouring in and there was no discussion about where to find it."

Example

More examples

"The medical evidence showed conclusively that death was due to apoplexy."

Etymology

Late Middle English from Old French apoplexie, from Late Latin apoplexia, from Ancient Greek ἀποπληξία (apoplēxía, “madness; apoplexy, paralysis”), from ἀποπλήσσω (apoplḗssō, “to cripple by a stroke”) + -ία (-ía, nominal suffix). See plague.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.