twitching

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Related to twitching: Muscle twitching

twitch

(twĭch)

v. twitched, twitch·ing, twitch·es

v.tr.

To draw, pull, or move suddenly and sharply; jerk: I twitched my fishing line.

v.intr.

1. To move jerkily or spasmodically.

2. To ache sharply from time to time; twinge.

1. A sudden involuntary or spasmodic muscular movement: a twitch of the eye.

2. A sudden pulling; a tug: The fish gave my line a twitch.

3. A sudden, sharp pain.

[Middle English twicchen; possibly akin to Low German twikken.]

twitch′ing·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.

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Noun

twitching - a sudden muscle spasm; especially one caused by a nervous condition

twitch, vellication

cramp, muscle spasm, spasm - a painful and involuntary muscular contraction

tic - a local and habitual twitching especially in the face

blepharism - condition in which a person blinks continuously

fibrillation - muscular twitching involving individual muscle fibers acting without coordination

fasciculation - muscular twitching of contiguous groups of muscle fibers

References in classic literature ?

It was she that discovered us, and the pair stood and looked up at us, silently, with twitching, scenting nostrils.

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The worst and most tiresome part of his character, what made all relations with him so difficult, had been forgotten by Konstantin Levin when he thought of him, and now, when he saw his face, and especially that nervous twitching of his head, he remembered it all.

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The twitching increased, the handsome mouth was drawn to one side (only now did Pierre realize how near death his father was), and from that distorted mouth issued an indistinct, hoarse sound.

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"You did it, and saved the man's life!" And Ned would have rushed out toward the still twitching body.

Now the brute glanced uneasily from side to side, its tail nervously twitching, and it seemed trying to gain, by a sniffing of the air, some information as to the direction in which danger lay, for Tom and Ned had stooped low, concealing themselves by a screen of leaves.

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Aston claimed his platoon sergeant, Paul Kelly, approached the ditch and tried to fire at one of the twitching men but his weapon did not work.

SOLDIER FIRED ON BODIES OF IRAQIS

The muscles also relax and this may lead to the twitching.

YOU ASK & WE ANSWER; Your say

For example, many dialysis patients are constantly jarred from sleep by brief episodes of interrupted breathing, called sleep apnea, and involuntary muscle twitching.

Rest for the weary dialysis patient

Fibromyalgia, where twitching is related to tender points within the muscle irritate nearby nerves causing contractions.

Why is my leg twitching?

WHY do eyelids sometimes keep twitching? James, New Eltham, South-East London

YOU ASK & WE ANSWER; Your say

A Eye twitching is usually caused by stress and tension.

ask the Doc; Craig Lennox Our GP expert will answer your questions every week

The result is said to be a pleasant, pulsing sensation, similar to the twitching of an eyelid.