1
as in bursts
a sudden intense expression of strong feeling
a paroxysm of laughter greeted the pratfall
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in upheavals
a violent disturbance (as of the political or social order)
Darwin's introduction of the theory of evolution created paroxysms in both religion and science that are still being felt today
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of paroxysms
Preparing a tax return can trigger paroxysms of stress at the best of times.
—
Daniel De Visé,
USA Today,
30 Mar. 2026
Also, stars in this frenzied state aren’t terribly stable; the fusion rate can be tempestuous, and the star undergoes incredibly violent paroxysms.
—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
20 Mar. 2026
The post is now nearing a hundred million views and inspiring paroxysms of millennial self-reckoning.
—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
13 Aug. 2025
Daniel De Visé,
USA Today,
30 Mar. 2026
Also, stars in this frenzied state aren’t terribly stable; the fusion rate can be tempestuous, and the star undergoes incredibly violent paroxysms.
—
Phil Plait,
Scientific American,
20 Mar. 2026
The post is now nearing a hundred million views and inspiring paroxysms of millennial self-reckoning.
—
Kyle Chayka,
New Yorker,
13 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paroxysms
Noun
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From Friday to Sunday, singers and alphorn players filled the streets and spontaneous bursts of yodeling echoed through restaurants, where diners initially reacted with surprise before joining in.
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San Francisco real estate agent Butch Haze of Compass has seen tech booms followed by ravenous bursts of homebuying since the first internet gold rush of the late 1990s.
Noun
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The cyclical reality awaiting ‘naive capital’ Allianz is far from the only insurer to have prospered through recent upheavals.
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Not every government will experience Ethiopia’s dramatic upheavals.
Noun
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Public outbursts remain relatively uncommon, making this week's intervention particularly revealing.
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There have been intermittent outbursts of violence against immigrants since then.
Noun
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Later Wednesday, Mexico City Health Secretary Nadine Gasman, told a news conference that another man, about 30, was treated by emergency personnel after suffering an epileptic seizure, convulsions, and gastrointestinal bleeding.
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It is known to cause neurological problems, convulsions and comas, with children particularly at risk.
Noun
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Multiple explosions were heard in Kyiv, a Reuters witness said.
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Instead of focusing narrowly on one object at a time, the observatory will sweep across huge areas of sky, building an archive of stars, galaxies, asteroids and cosmic explosions.
Noun
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The Courant has reported some colonists were not exactly thrilled by the notion of severing ties with England and that true believers in independence probably initially were in the minority, as with all revolutions.
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A16z partners, including SDN pioneers Martin Casado and Raghu Raghuram, see Netris as essential for the AI era, akin to past data center networking revolutions.
Noun
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Several of these eruptions were accompanied by coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that appear to be at least partially Earth-directed.
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The most powerful solar flares are X-class solar flares, and forecasters at NOAA observed one of these eruptions on Tuesday.
Noun
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Alfonzo’s younger sister, Eliana, and stepmother, Patricia, have been missing since last month when earthquakes caused widespread devastation in his home country of Venezuela.
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It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year.
Cite this Entry
“Paroxysms.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paroxysms. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
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