What is the distinction between these two definitions of "paroxysm"?
What is the distinction between these two definitions of "paroxysm"? I've done some research on some online dictionaries, whereby each dictionary provides exactly two definitions for the word "paroxysm". But herein lies the rub: I do not fully comprehend the meanings of these two dictionary entries.
Source: https://dictionary.com/
paroxysm
[ par-uhk-siz-uhm, puh-rok- ]SHOW IPA
See synonyms for: paroxysm / paroxysmal on https://thesaurus.com/
?? Post-College Level
noun
any sudden, uncontrollable outburst; a fit of emotion or action:
Examples: paroxysms of rage; a paroxysm of laughter; a paroxysm of coughing; The war unleashed a paroxysm of violence.
2) Pathology. a severe attack or a sudden increase in intensity of a disease, usually recurring periodically.
Top answer
I would have put the medical one first because it gave rise to the other one. You can forget the medical meaning. Only doctors talking to other doctors will know what it means.
- I would have put the medical one first because it gave rise to the other one.
- You can forget the medical meaning.
- Only doctors talking to other doctors will know what it means.
- In common parlance, it's the two-dollar version of "fit".
- But perhaps it isn't common enough for common parlance; it has a distinctly nineteenth-century feel to it.
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I would have put the medical one first because it gave rise to the other one. You can forget the medical meaning. Only doctors talking to other doctors will know what it means. In common parlance, it's the two-dollar version of "fit". But perhaps it isn't common enough for common parlance; it has a distinctly nineteenth-century feel to it.
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