as in to shake
to make a series of small irregular or violent movements
convulsing with silent laughter as the inept pianist blithely played on
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of convulse
The goat died a day later, according to the affidavit, after convulsing and showing signs of respiratory distress.
—
Liam Quinn, People.com, 30 Dec. 2024
After the Southport attack, Britain was convulsed by a series of riots, as disinformation about the attacker’s identity swirled on social media and messaging apps.
—Megan Specia, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
In the predawn hours of Feb. 6, 2023, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake convulsed the ground beneath the Turkish borderlands where more than a million Syrians lived.
—Alia Malek, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025
She was recalled in November as fears about crime convulsed her city, and restaurants such as In-N-Out and Denny’s closed local outlets, citing safety concerns.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for convulse
Liam Quinn, People.com, 30 Dec. 2024
After the Southport attack, Britain was convulsed by a series of riots, as disinformation about the attacker’s identity swirled on social media and messaging apps.
—Megan Specia, New York Times, 20 Jan. 2025
In the predawn hours of Feb. 6, 2023, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake convulsed the ground beneath the Turkish borderlands where more than a million Syrians lived.
—Alia Malek, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2025
She was recalled in November as fears about crime convulsed her city, and restaurants such as In-N-Out and Denny’s closed local outlets, citing safety concerns.
—Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for convulse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for convulse
Verb
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What’s a deadline without a head-scratcher to shake things up?—
Shayna Goldman,
The Athletic,
6 Mar. 2025
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Among the official White House records housed in the Jimmy Carter Library and Museum, in Atlanta, is a photograph of the late president shaking hands with an 80-year-old Black schoolteacher, Septima Poinsette Clark.—
Elaine Weiss,
The Atlantic,
6 Mar. 2025
Verb
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But that steady flow of income and improvement came to a shuddering halt on October 7 as Hamas militants poured across the Gaza border and began their murder and kidnap spree across southern Israel.—
Kocha Olarn,
CNN,
21 Feb. 2025
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Mount Spurr, an Alaskan volcano shuddering with small earthquakes for 10 months, could erupt soon.—
Dan Perry,
Newsweek,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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In sumptuously vibrating chords in the first movement of Schubert’s Fantasy, Olafsson’s touch was a little wetter and more muted, Wang’s percussive and as coolly etched as a polygraph.—
Zachary Woolfe,
New York Times,
20 Feb. 2025
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Even the film’s basic exposition, showing Anna working in Klaus’s household and receiving her fateful instructions from Hansen, is richly suggestive of the turmoil vibrating beneath the orderly domestic surface.—
Richard Brody,
The New Yorker,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The Tesla doesn’t have that collaborative aspect and will shut off if the driver jerks the wheel.—
Robert Ferris,
CNBC,
4 Feb. 2025
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There are numerous moments where she is lost in a dream or a memory before suddenly jerking awake, often too clearly delineating the boundaries in a film ostensibly about its main character’s delusions.—
Ryan Swen,
Variety,
18 Jan. 2025
Verb
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There were towering Great Danes, tiny, trembling Chihuahuas, and every shape of fluff in between.—
Savannah White,
Glamour,
18 Feb. 2025
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The ground would tremble now as a 110-ton launcher closure door opens and the engine ignites.—
Alfredo Sosa,
The Christian Science Monitor,
14 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Cloudlike bursts and quivering lines give a sense of the physicality of sign language.—
Aruna D’Souza,
New York Times,
14 Feb. 2025
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The muscles on the haunches of the poor animal quivered and jerked from the exertion.—
Frank C. Hibben,
Outdoor Life,
13 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Convulse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/convulse. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.
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