kənˈvəls verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin convulsus, past participle of convellere to tear loose, dislocate, from com- + vellere to pluck, pull — more at vulnerable
transitive verb
1. : to shake violently : agitate greatly : throw into confusion
the world is convulsed by the agonies of great nations — T.B.Macaulay
the ferment of change that has convulsed … our twentieth-century world — A.E.Stevenson †1965
2. : to affect with violent and irregular contractions of the muscles : shake with irregular spasms (as in agony from grief or pain)
she writh'd about, convuls'd with scarlet pain — John Keats
3. : to cause to laugh violently
he … convulsed the country with the famous kitten-and-coat saga — Scott Fitzgerald
intransitive verb
: to become affected with convulsions
some will convulse as a result of high fever
Synonyms: see shake