convulse
verb
[ kənˈvʌls ]
• suffer violent involuntary contraction of the muscles, producing contortion of the body or limbs.
• "she convulsed, collapsing to the floor with the pain"
Similar:
shake uncontrollably/violently,
go into spasms,
shudder,
jerk,
thrash about,
suffer a fit,
• throw (a country) into violent social or political upheaval.
• "a wave of mass strikes convulsed the Ruhr, Berlin, and central Germany"
Origin:
mid 17th century: from Latin convuls- ‘pulled violently, wrenched’, from the verb convellere, from con- ‘together’ + vellere ‘to pull’.
