Search Result for "paroxysm": 
Wordnet 3.0

NOUN (1)

1. a sudden uncontrollable attack;
- Example: "a paroxysm of giggling"
- Example: "a fit of coughing"
- Example: "convulsions of laughter"
[syn: paroxysm, fit, convulsion]



The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Paroxysm \Par"ox*ysm\, n. [F. paroxysme, Gr. ?, fr. ? to
   sharpen, irritate; para` beside, beyond + ? to sharpen, from
   ? sharp.]
   1. (Med.) The fit, attack, or exacerbation, of a disease that
      occurs at intervals, or has decided remissions or
      intermissions. --Arbuthnot.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Any sudden and violent emotion; spasmodic passion or
      action; a convulsion; a fit.
      [1913 Webster]

            The returning paroxysms of diffidence and despair.
                                                  --South.
      [1913 Webster]


WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

paroxysm
    n 1: a sudden uncontrollable attack; "a paroxysm of giggling";
         "a fit of coughing"; "convulsions of laughter" [syn:
         paroxysm, fit, convulsion]