- 1[transitive, intransitive] convulse (somebody) (with something) to cause a sudden shaking movement in someone's body; to make this movement A violent shiver convulsed him. His whole body convulsed.
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- 2[transitive] be convulsed with laughter, anger, etc. to be laughing so much, so angry, etc., that you cannot control your movements
- 3[transitive, usually passive] to cause a lot of sudden, violent confusion in a place Many American cities were convulsed by violence in the 1960s and 70s.
convulse
verbNAmE//kənˈvʌls//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they convulse he / she / it convulses
past simple convulsed
-ing form convulsing
Check pronunciation: convulse