spasmodic
/spæzˈmɑ.dɪk/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.09 in modern English
16
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of or relating to a spasm; resembling a sudden contraction of the muscles.
adj
adj
Intermittent or fitful; occurring in abrupt bursts.
adj
Erratic or unsustained.
adj
Of or relating to the spasmodic poets, a group of British Victorian poets who wrote introspective drama in verse.
noun
A medicine for suppressing spasms.
Example Sentences
- "spasmodic asthma"
- "[…] Dr. Francis Fuller, […] upon wearing a Quick-ſilver Girdle, for the Cure of the Itch, (and that after an inconſiderate and raſh manner) was brought under a violent Spaſmodick Diſtemper, which was ſupposed by himſelf and others to be owing to ſome Mercurial Particles lodg'd in ſome excretory Ducts of the Brain."
- "Kennedy’s vocal rasp is not caused by an infection or respiratory condition. Instead, he has spasmodic dysphonia, a rare neurological condition in which the muscles that open and close his vocal cords spasm involuntarily, creating a strained or strangled quality to his speech."
- "spasmodic zeal or industry"
- "The chin was heavy, the nostrils were low and wide, and the lower lip hung loosely except in his moments of spasmodic earnestness, when it shut like a steel trap."
Etymology
From New Latin spasmōdicus, from Ancient Greek σπασμώδης (spasmṓdēs, “spasmodic”), from σπασμός (spasmós, “spasm”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: spasmōdicus, σπασμώδης
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /spæzˈmɑ.dɪk/
- British English: /spæzˈmɒd.ɪk/