spasm
A sudden, involuntary contraction of a muscle, a group of muscles, or a hollow organ.
Example
“Jessica went into spasms after eating a peanut.”
Other meanings
A violent, excruciating seizure of pain.
A sudden and temporary burst of energy, activity, or emotion.
Synonyms
- muscle spasm
Related words
- spasm band
- spasm war
- cadaveric spasm
- angiospasm
- arteriospasm
- blepharospasm
- bronchospasm
- cardiospasm
- cheirospasm
- colpospasm
- cystospasm
- dactylospasm
Word history
From Ancient Greek "σπασμός" (spasm, convulsion).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “spasm” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; related-word lists use Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0, based on Princeton WordNet), published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.