convulse

present singular third person convulses · participle present convulsing · participle past convulsed · past convulsed

1. intransitiveTo suffer violent involuntary contractions of the muscles, causing one's body to contort.

   He realized she was crying. He could feel her body convulsing with little sobs and her cheek was wet where it brushed his.

   1999, Mona Lee, Alien Child, page 278

2. figurativelyintransitiveTo be beset by political or social upheaval.

   The Persian Empire was convulsing with intrigue, revolt, and civil war.

   1988, Carroll Stuhlmueller, Rebuilding with Hope: A Commentary on the Books of Haggai and Zechariah, page 12

3. transitiveTo cause (someone) to suffer such contractions, especially as a result of making them laugh heartily.

   But while he was convulsing all London with laughter, he was fast falling a victim to consumption.

   1882, William Montgomery Clemens, Famous Funny Fellows: Brief Biographical Sketches of American Humorists, pages 28–29

4. transitiveTo cause disruption to.

   For Lucifer, as Lord of Fire, was thought to suffer the most terrible pangs whenever the element of fire, over which he presided, was convulsed or agitated.

   1965, Attila Zohar, Kings Cross Black Magic, Sydney: Horwitz Publications, page 117