convulse
/kənˈvʌls/verb
convulse is spelled C-O-N-V-U-L-S-E: 8 letters. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 106,501st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, convulse means “To suffer violent involuntary contractions of the muscles, causing one's body to contort” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in convulse?
| Letters | 8: C-O-N-V-U-L-S-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 106,501st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is convulse?
Convulse appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 106,501st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce convulse?
- /kənˈvʌls/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-convulse.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of convulse
- convulses present, singular, he/she/it
- convulsing participle, present
- convulsed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does convulse mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To suffer violent involuntary contractions of the muscles, causing one's body to contort.
- 2
To be beset by political or social upheaval.
- 3
To cause (someone) to suffer such contractions, especially as a result of making them laugh heartily.
- 4
To cause disruption to.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Convulse in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to violently shake:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | convulser |
| German | erschüttern |
| Portuguese | convulsionar, convelir |
| Spanish | convulsionar, crispar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does convulse come from?
From Latin convulsus, past participle of convellere (“to pluck up, dislocate, convulse”), from com- (“together”) + vellere (“to pluck, pull”). Doublet of convel.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).