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paroxysm
par·ox·ysm
[
párrək sìzzəm
]
(
plural
par·ox·ysms
[
pə ròtti dtiss
]
)
noun
Definition:
1.
sudden outburst of emotion:
a sudden and uncontrollable expression of emotion
paroxysms of grief
2.
outburst of symptom:
a sudden onset or intensification of a pathological symptom or symptoms, especially when recurrent
[
Late 16th century. < medieval Latin< Greek
paroxunein
"irritate," literally "sharpen beyond" <
oxus
"sharp"
]
par·ox·ys·mal
[
pàrrək sízm'l
]
adjective
par·ox·ys·mal·ly
adverb
par·ox·ys·mic
[
pàrrək sízmik
]
adjective
Encarta® World English Dictionary [North American Edition] © & (P)2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Developed for Microsoft by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
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par·ox·ys·mal [ pàrrək sízm'l ] adjectivepar·ox·ys·mal·ly adverbpar·ox·ys·mic [ pàrrək sízmik ] adjective
