apoplexy
7 synonyms and 2 antonyms for apoplexy, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A sudden loss of consciousness, movement or speech caused by bleeding in or blocked blood flow to the brain; the older medical name for a stroke.
Synonyms
Everyday swaps
Common words most readers know — safe in any writing.
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
Synonyms by Meaning
1. noun dated
A sudden loss of consciousness, movement or speech caused by bleeding in or blocked blood flow to the brain; the older medical name for a stroke.
“The parish register records that he died of apoplexy in his sixty-second year.”
How to use apoplexy
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
The medical sense is historical and appears mainly in old records and period fiction. In modern writing the word is nearly always about anger, usually with a touch of humour.
Etymology
From Greek apoplexia, from apoplessein 'to disable by a stroke', reaching English through Latin and Old French.
Full origin of apoplexy →Frequently asked questions
Is apoplexy the same as a stroke?
Historically yes: apoplexy was the standard term for what doctors now call a stroke. It is no longer used clinically because it described only the outward collapse and said nothing about the cause, which modern imaging can identify precisely.
What does it mean to be apoplectic with rage?
It means being so angry that you seem on the verge of a physical collapse. The phrase borrows the old medical image of someone struck down suddenly, and today it is understood as vivid exaggeration rather than a health warning.