paroxysm
/ˈpæɹəksɪz(ə)m/
"paroxysm" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“paroxysm” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A period (especially one of several recurring periods) during the course of an illness when symptoms worsen; a sudden attack of a disease symptom, such as a bout of coughing or a seizure.
Corpus desk
Index EN-paroxysm · paroxysm · English
paroxysm · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "P" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | paroxysm |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈpæɹəksɪz(ə)m/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “paroxysm” in English
Rare enough to double-check
paroxysm is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈpæɹəksɪz(ə)m/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 5 senses are on record.
paroxysm doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English paroxism, paroxisme (“period of worsening of a disease, attack; sudden recurrent fever”), from Middle French paroxisme, paroxysme, and Old French peroxime (“period of worsening of a disease; bout of fever or illness”) (modern French… The correct English form is paroxysm, spelled P-A-R-O-X-Y-S-M.
Definition
- 1A period (especially one of several recurring periods) during the course of an illness when symptoms worsen; a sudden attack of a disease symptom, such as a bout of coughing or a seizure.
- 2Chiefly followed by of: a sudden outburst of violent activity or feeling; also, the most severe part of an activity or incident; the climax.
- 3An outburst of a violent argument or disagreement.
- 4A violent occurrence of a natural phenomenon, such as an earthquake, thunderstorm, or volcanic eruption; specifically (volcanology), the most explosive event during a series of volcanic eruptions.
- 5Disastrous or sudden change.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how paroxysm appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
Againe; I feare a paroxiſme.
For, Sir, though Ireland is always combustible, Ireland is not always on fire. We must distinguish between the chronic complaints which are to be attributed to remote causes, and the acute attack which is brought on by recent imprudence. For though there is always a predisposition to disease in that unhappy society, the violent paroxysms come only at inte…
Etymology
From Late Middle English paroxism, paroxisme (“period of worsening of a disease, attack; sudden recurrent fever”), from Middle French paroxisme, paroxysme, and Old French peroxime (“period of worsening of a disease; bout of fever or illness”) (modern French paroxysme), and from their etymon Late Latin paroxismus, paroxysmus (“a fit; onset of a disease; violent impulse or sadness”), from Ancient Greek πᾰροξῠσμός (păroxŭsmós, “exasperation, irritation; severe fit of a disease”), from πᾰροξῡ́νω (păroxū́nō, “to irritate, provoke”) (from παρα- (para-, prefix meaning ‘parallel to but separate from or going beyond, beside’) + ὀξῡ́νω (oxū́nō, “to provoke; to sharpen”) (from ὀξῠ́ς (oxŭ́s, “sharp”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp”))) + -μός (-mós, suffix forming abstract nouns). By surface analysis, para- + oxy- + -ism.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.