Meanings
- proscribedsometimesuncountablemedicineA type of epilepsy where seizures are characterized as severe and involving spasms and unconsciousness.
Synonyms: tonic-clonic
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA type of epilepsy where seizures are characterized as severe and involving spasms and unconsciousness.
More synonyms by meaning
nounepilepsy in which the attacks involve loss of consciousness and tonic spasms of the musculature followed by generalized jerking
nouna seizure during which the patient becomes unconscious and has convulsions over the entire body
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchgrand mal
- Englishgrand mal
Borrowed from French grand mal (literally “great illness”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Finnish iso kohtaus
- iso kohtausform of epilepsy
Russian большо́й эпилепти́ческий припа́док
- большо́й эпилепти́ческий припа́док (bolʹšój epileptíčeskij pripádok)form of epilepsy
Cite this entry
grand mal. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grand%20mal
“grand mal.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grand%20mal. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “grand mal,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/grand%20mal.
Source: grand mal on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.