Convulses

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To undergo unexpected, violent muscle contractions that may stem from intense emotions, medical conditions, or neurological disturbances
2. To display rapid, involuntary jerks of the body caused by stress, illness, or other physical conditions
3. To experience sudden and violent involuntary muscle movements that can result from a variety of physical or emotional triggers

Etymology: The verb "convulse" comes from Latin "convellere," meaning "to pluck up" or "to dislocate," built from "com-" ("together") and "vellere" ("to pluck, pull"). Its past participle, "convulsus," carried that sense of violent wrenching, and the English verb keeps it: to convulse is to have the body pulled and jerked out of its ordinary order. The word also has a twin. "Convel," a doublet of "convulse," came into English from the same Latin source by a separate route, which is why two near-identical verbs both descend from that one act of plucking. The rarer form has largely faded, leaving "convulse" to carry the whole meaning. Over time the physical image of tugging things loose gave way to the picture of the body seized by spasm, and then to emotional extremes, so that people can be convulsed with laughter or grief just as they can be convulsed by illness. The root idea of forcible pulling survives in every sense.

Synonyms: twitches, shudders, spasms, jerks, throes

Antonyms: calms, soothes, settles, relaxes, still