seizures

Meanings

1. 1nounpluralmedical

   Sudden episodes in which abnormal electrical activity in the brain causes shaking, loss of awareness or other involuntary effects.

   Grammar: Plural of seizure: she has had two seizures this year.

   Patterns

   • have seizures
   • seizures caused by something

   Flashing lights can trigger seizures in some people.

   The medication has reduced his seizures from weekly to rare.

   Doctors were unsure what was causing the seizures.

2. 2nounplurallegal

   Acts of taking something by official force or authority, especially illegal goods or property.

   Grammar: Often appears with a thing seized: drug seizures, asset seizures.

   Patterns

   • seizures of something

   Customs reported record seizures of counterfeit goods last month.

   The court approved seizures of the company's assets.

   Police announced several large drug seizures along the coast.

Word forms

Common combinations

epileptic seizures

Epileptic seizures can last from seconds to several minutes.

suffer seizures

The dog began to suffer seizures at the age of five.

drug seizures

Drug seizures at the port doubled this year.

prevent seizures

This treatment helps prevent seizures in children.

seizures of weapons

Seizures of weapons rose after the new law.

Synonyms and how they differ

fits

Fits is a more everyday word for the medical sense, while seizures is the standard clinical term.

convulsions

Convulsions refers to the violent shaking itself, but some seizures involve no shaking at all.

confiscations

Confiscations suggests taking property as punishment or by rule, while seizures also covers raids and capture by force.

captures

Captures fits people or places taken, while seizures is more common for goods and assets.

Opposites

Word family

seizure noun

singular form: one episode or one act of seizing

seize verb

to grab or take hold of something suddenly or by force

seized adjective

taken by force or authority

seizing noun

the act of taking something suddenly

Commonly confused: seizures or seasons?

Practice

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