Meaning & use
apoplexy
Last updated
Extreme anger or a fit of rage so intense it seems to overwhelm someone physically.
See it in a sentence
He was reduced to apoplexy when he saw the parking ticket on his brand-new car.
Her calm reply only pushed the manager further into apoplexy.
A note on using this word
This modern sense (extreme anger) grew out of the older medical meaning; the related adjective "apoplectic" is now more common than the noun in everyday speech.
Words with a similar meaning
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Another way to use it
2. noun
An old medical term for sudden loss of consciousness and paralysis caused by a stroke.
In older medical texts, a sudden collapse from a burst blood vessel was called apoplexy.
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