paroxysm

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Related to paroxysm: hysterical paroxysm

par·ox·ysm

(păr′ək-sĭz′əm)

1. A sudden outburst of emotion or action: a paroxysm of laughter.

a. A sudden attack, recurrence, or intensification of a disease.

b. A spasm or fit; a convulsion.

[Middle English paroxism, periodic attack of a disease, from Medieval Latin paroxysmus, from Greek paroxusmos, from paroxūnein, to stimulate, irritate : para-, intensive pref.; see para-¹ + oxūnein, to goad, sharpen (from oxus, sharp; see ak- in Indo-European roots).]

par′ox·ys′mal (-ək-sĭz′məl) adj.

par′ox·ys′mal·ly adv.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

paroxysm

(ˈpærəkˌsɪzəm)

1. an uncontrollable outburst: a paroxysm of giggling.

2. (Pathology) pathol

a. a sudden attack or recurrence of a disease

b. any fit or convulsion

[C17: via French from Medieval Latin paroxysmus annoyance, from Greek paroxusmos, from paroxunein to goad, from para-¹ (intensifier) + oxunein to sharpen, from oxus sharp]

ˌparoxˈysmal, ˌparoxˈysmic adj

ˌparoxˈysmally adv

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

par•ox•ysm

(ˈpær əkˌsɪz əm)

n.

1. any sudden, violent outburst, as of action or emotion: paroxysms of rage.

2. a severe attack or a sudden increase in intensity of a disease, usu. recurring periodically.

[1570–80; earlier paroxismos < Greek paroxysmós irritation, derivative of paroxýnein to irritate]

par`ox•ys′mal, adj.

par`ox•ys′mal•ly, adv.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

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Noun

paroxysm - a sudden uncontrollable attack; "a paroxysm of giggling"; "a fit of coughing"; "convulsions of laughter"

convulsion, fit

attack - a sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition; "an attack of diarrhea"

paroxysm

noun outburst, attack, fit, seizure, flare-up (informal), eruption, spasm, convulsion She was overcome by a paroxysm of grief.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

paroxysm

noun

1. A condition of anguished struggle and disorder:

convulsion, throe (used in plural).

2. A violent, excruciating seizure of pain:

cramp, shoot, spasm, throe.

Translations

نَوبَةٌ فُجائِيَّه

návalvýbuchzáchvat

anfald

ParoxysmusAnfall

kohtaus

paroxysme

paroksizam

kast

parossismo attacco

lēkme

heftig anfall

şiddetli duygu boşalımı

突然发作

paroxysm

[ˈpærəksɪzəm] N → paroxismo m
she broke into a paroxysm of coughing → le dio un ataque muy fuerte de tos
it sent him into paroxysms of mirth/rage → le hizo troncharse de risa/le produjo un ataque de ira

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

paroxysm

[ˈpærəksɪzəm] n

(MEDICINE) → paroxysme m

(= spasm) [coughing] → quinte f
He broke into a paroxysm of coughing → Il fut pris d'une quinte de toux.
to send sb into paroxysms of laughter → faire hurler qn de rire

(= fit) [grief, anger] → accès m
in a paroxysm of rage → dans un accès de rage

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

paroxysm

n → Anfall m; paroxysm of grief → Verzweiflungsanfall m; to be seized by a paroxysm of rage → einen Wutanfall bekommen; paroxysms of laughter → ein Lachkrampf m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

paroxysm

[ˈpærəkˌsɪz/əm] n (Med) → parossismo; (of laughter, coughing) → convulso; (of grief, anger) → attacco

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

paroxysm

(ˈpӕrəksizəm) noun

a sudden sharp attack (of pain, rage, laughter etc). a paroxysm of coughing/fury.

par·ox·ysm

n. paroxismo, ataque;

espasmo o convulsión;

síntomas que se repiten y se intensifican.

paroxysm

n paroxismo

References in classic literature ?

And after that another paroxysm of pain came on; and then his mind began to wander, and we feared his death was approaching: but an opiate was administered: his sufferings began to abate, he gradually became more composed, and at length sank into a kind of slumber.

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In Smolensk, at the Malakhov Gate, he had hardly dozed off in a paroxysm of fever before he was awakened by the bombardment of the town- and Smolensk held out all day long.

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'May she wake in torment!' he cried, with frightful vehemence, stamping his foot, and groaning in a sudden paroxysm of ungovernable passion.

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And as to those mortal feuds which, in certain conjunctures, spread a conflagration through a whole nation, or through a very large proportion of it, proceeding either from weighty causes of discontent given by the government or from the contagion of some violent popular paroxysm, they do not fall within any ordinary rules of calculation.

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A knowledge of its faded and jaded condition made the charge ap- pear like a paroxysm, a display of the strength that comes before a final feebleness.

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By this time, he is exasperated to such frenzy, that they are sometimes obliged to throw cold water on him, to moderate his fury; and dangerous would it be, for horse and rider, were he, while in this paroxysm, to break his bonds.

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Even in the paroxysm of his grief he would not have dared to profane the dead, or for the first time disturb the slumber of his master.

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And as they obeyed, Michael strained backward in a paroxysm of rage, making fierce short jumps to the end of the tether as he snarled and growled with utmost fierceness at the steward.

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The attendant tells me that he was quiet until just before dawn, and that then he began to get uneasy, and at length violent, until at last he fell into a paroxysm which exhausted him so that he swooned into a sort of coma.

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Wopsle's great-aunt fell into a state of coma; arising either from sleep or a rheumatic paroxysm. The pupils then entered among themselves upon a competitive examination on the subject of Boots, with the view of ascertaining who could tread the hardest upon whose toes.

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Had the poor man be an apoplectic, he could never have recovered from his paroxysm of wrath.

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Beauchamp, who had watched with sincere pity the young man's paroxysm of grief, approached him.