Paroxysm
['pærək'sɪzəm]
Definition
(noun.) a sudden uncontrollable attack; 'a paroxysm of giggling'; 'a fit of coughing'; 'convulsions of laughter'.
Typist: Osborn--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) The fit, attack, or exacerbation, of a disease that occurs at intervals, or has decided remissions or intermissions.
(n.) Any sudden and violent emotion; spasmodic passion or action; a convulsion; a fit.
Edited by Leopold
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. (Med.) Exacerbation (of a disease, periodically), fit, convulsion, sudden attack.
Checked by Gerald
Definition
n. a fit of acute pain occurring at intervals: a fit of passion: any sudden violent action.—adjs. Paroxys′mal Paroxys′mic pertaining to or occurring in paroxysms.
Inputed by Antonia
Examples
- She was laid down quite flat, as if resting languidly after some paroxysm of pain. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- She broke from me with hysterical vehemence, and threw herself on the sofa in a paroxysm of sobs and tears that shook her from head to foot. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Sloppy they left behind, relieving his overcharged breast with a paroxysm of mangling. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- But stronger than all was maternal love, wrought into a paroxysm of frenzy by the near approach of a fearful danger. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- I had merely announced to her my intention of keeping a man-servant, when she fell into the extraordinary paroxysm in which you found her. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- As soon as this volume began to circulate, Mr. Wopsle's great-aunt fell into a state of coma, arising either from sleep or a rheumatic paroxysm. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- And yet--and yet-- he clenched his thin hands in a paroxysm of conviction--I KNOW it's all wrong. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- All the demoniacal force of the man masked behind that listless manner burst out in a paroxysm of energy. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Scarcely a day passes, I assure Mr. Traddles, on which some paroxysm does not take place. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- A strange transport took possession of her, all her veins were in a paroxysm of violent sensation. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- While we renewed old acquaintance, Graham, sitting opposite, silently disposed of his paroxysm of astonishment. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- In a paroxysm of fear, the boy closed the book, and thrust it from him. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- I then descried Mr. and Mrs. Hubble; the last-named in a decent speechless paroxysm in a corner. Charles Dickens. Great Expectations.
- While I was speaking, a paroxysm of pain came on. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- But even in the midst of that paroxysm, he still essayed to repeat his favourite introduction of himself, 'Pa-ancks the gi-ipsy, fortune-telling. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- And so, when the paroxysms came on, each more severe than the last, they were fresh agonies, and greater disappointments to him. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- And in the midst of their paroxysms, they glanced with deference at the four English strangers, the elect. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- At the close of one of these paroxysms, when I had with great difficulty held him down in his bed, he sank into what appeared to be a slumber. Charles Dickens. The Pickwick Papers.
- These paroxysms pass from him like a cloud from before the sun, though his dejection never leaves him. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
Checked by Lionel