spasmodic

comparative more spasmodic · superlative most spasmodic

1. Of or relating to a spasm; resembling a sudden contraction of the muscles.
2. Convulsive; consisting of spasms.

   spasmodic asthma

   2 more examples

   […] Dr. Francis Fuller, […] upon wearing a Quick-ſilver Girdle, for the Cure of the Itch, (and that after an inconſiderate and raſh manner) was brought under a violent Spaſmodick Diſtemper, which was ſupposed by himſelf and others to be owing to ſome Mercurial Particles lodg'd in ſome excretory Ducts of the Brain.

   1734, T[homas] K[night], A Critical Dissertation upon the Manner of the Preparation of Mercurial Medicines, and Their Operation on Human Bodies; particularly Those Most in Fashion: […], London: Printed for Harmen Noorthouck […], →OCLC, page 52

   Kennedy’s vocal rasp is not caused by an infection or respiratory condition. Instead, he has spasmodic dysphonia, a rare neurological condition in which the muscles that open and close his vocal cords spasm involuntarily, creating a strained or strangled quality to his speech.

   2025 January 29, Sandee LaMotte, “A rare brain disorder robbed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of his strong speaking voice”, in CNN

3. Intermittent or fitful; occurring in abrupt bursts.

   spasmodic zeal or industry

   1 more example

   The chin was heavy, the nostrils were low and wide, and the lower lip hung loosely except in his moments of spasmodic earnestness, when it shut like a steel trap.

   1900 April, Willa Cather, “Eric Hermannson's Soul”, in Cosmopolitan

   Synonyms: patchy, stop-start, broken, fitful, ragged, catchy, discontinuous, intermissive

4. Erratic or unsustained.
5. Of or relating to the spasmodic poets, a group of British Victorian poets who wrote introspective drama in verse.

plural spasmodics

1. A medicine for suppressing spasms.

   Synonyms: antispasmodic