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paroxysm

 
(păr'ək-sĭz'əm) pronunciation
n.
  1. A sudden outburst of emotion or action: a paroxysm of laughter.
    1. A sudden attack, recurrence, or intensification of a disease.
    2. A spasm or fit; a convulsion.

[Middle English paroxism, periodic attack of a disease, from Medieval Latin paroxysmus, from Greek paroxusmos, from paroxūnein, to stimulate, irritate : para-, intensive pref.; see para-1 + oxūnein, to goad, sharpen (from oxus, sharp).]

paroxysmal par'ox·ys'mal (-ək-sĭz'məl) adj.
paroxysmally par'ox·ys'mal·ly adv.

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Roget's Thesaurus:

paroxysm

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noun

  1. A condition of anguished struggle and disorder: convulsion, throe (used in plural). See calm/agitation.
  2. A violent, excruciating seizure of pain: cramp1, shoot, spasm, throe. See pain/pleasure.

Word Tutor:

paroxysm

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: A sudden outburst of any kind of feeling or activity. Also: a sudden flare-up of illness.

pronunciation I am not sure that there was a great decrease in the actual physical suffering; I do know that the period of the paroxysm was reduced, since resistance seemed merely to prolong it. — Ray Stannard Baker (1870-1946) pseudonym: David Grayson U.S. author, biographer, from Under My Elm by David Grayson.

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1. a sudden recurrence or intensification of clinical signs.
2. a spasm or seizure.

(per′ək-siz-əm)
n

1. an abrupt increase or repeated occurrence of symptoms. n 2. a sudden violent attack, contraction of muscles, or convulsion.

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'paroxysm'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to paroxysm, see:

  See crossword solutions for the clue Paroxysm.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Paroxysmal attack

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Paroxysmal attack
Classification and external resources
ICD-10 G40-G47

Paroxysmal attacks are short, frequent and stereotyped symptoms that can be observed in various clinical conditions. They are usually associated with multiple sclerosis, pertussis, but they may also be observed in other disorders such as encephalitis, head trauma, stroke, asthma, trigeminal neuralgia, breath-holding spells, epilepsy, malaria, tabes dorsalis, and Behçet's disease. It has also been noted as a symptom of Gratification disorder in children.

Paroxysmal attacks in various disorders have been reported extensively and ephaptic coupling of myelin nerve has been presumed as one of the underlying mechanisms of this phenomenon. This is supported by the presence of these attacks in multiple sclerosis and tabes dorsalis, which both involve demyelination of spinal cord neurons. Exercise, tactile stimuli, hot water, anxiety and neck flexion may provoke paroxysmal attacks. Mostly reported paroxysmal attacks are painful tonic spasms dysarthria and ataxia, numbness and hemiparesis. They are typically different from other transient symptoms by their brevity (lasting no more than 2 minutes), frequency (from 1-2 times/day up to a few hundred times/day), stereotyped fashion and excellent response to drugs (usually carbamazepine). Withdrawal of symptoms without any residual neurological finding is another key feature in their recognition.

The word paroxysm means "sudden attack, outburst",[1] and comes from the Greek παροξυσμός (paroxusmos), "irritation, exasperation".[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ paroxysm, on Oxford Dictionaries
  2. ^ παροξυσμός, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus

Translations:

Paroxysm

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - heftigt anfald

Nederlands (Dutch)
paroxisme, hevige aanval/uitbarsting

Français (French)
n. - (Méd) paroxysme, crise

Deutsch (German)
n. - Krampf, Anfall

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - παροξυσμός

Italiano (Italian)
parossismo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - paroxismo (m), ataque (m)

Русский (Russian)
пароксизм

Español (Spanish)
n. - paroxismo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - häftigt anfall

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
发作, 突发

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 發作, 突發

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 발작, (감정의) 격발

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 発作, 激発

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) نوبه, اشتداد مفاجئ في أعراض المرض‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮התקף פתאומי, עווית‬


 
 

 

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