Convulsive

//kənˈvʌlsɪv// adj

adj ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Marked by or having the nature of convulsions.

    "He scarcely appeared to heed what was doing on the stage; perhaps Norboume was the only one who noticed the convulsive movement of the bitten lip, or the slight shudder which shook him at any unexpected sound."

  2. 2
    Having or producing convulsions.
Adjective
  1. 1
    affected by involuntary jerky muscular contractions; resembling a spasm wordnet
  2. 2
    resembling a convulsion in being sudden and violent wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
cataclysmicdisastrousfidgetyfitfuljerkingjerky

Example

More examples

"So powerful and so fierce was he that the four of us were shaken off again and again. He appeared to have the convulsive strength of a man in an epileptic fit."

Etymology

From French convulsif.

More for "convulsive"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

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