paroxysmal
/pæɹ.əkˈsɪz.məl/adjective
paroxysmal is spelled P-A-R-O-X-Y-S-M-A-L: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 91,522nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, paroxysmal means “Of, pertaining to, causing or accompanied by paroxysms” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in paroxysmal?
| Letters | 10: P-A-R-O-X-Y-S-M-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 9 million words; the 91,522nd 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 paroxysmal?
Paroxysmal appears about once in every 9 million words in written English, the 91,522nd 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 paroxysmal?
- US /pæɹ.əkˈsɪz.məl/
Paroxysmal has 4 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Neøn-paroxysmal.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of paroxysmal
- more paroxysmal comparative
- most paroxysmal superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does paroxysmal mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of, pertaining to, causing or accompanied by paroxysms.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Paroxysmal in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of, pertaining to, causing or accompanied by paroxysms:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| Spanish | paroxístico |
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 paroxysmal come from?
From paroxysm + -al.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).