convulse
[verb]
Synonyms: shake, agitate, churn up, derange, disorder, disturb, twist, work

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

con‧vulse /kənˈvʌls/ verb
[Date: 1600-1700; Language: Latin; Origin: past participle of convellere 'to pull violently', from com- ( ⇒ COM-) + vellere 'to pull out']

1. [intransitive] if your body or a part of it convulses, it moves violently and you are not able to control it:
He sat down, his shoulders convulsing with sobs.

2. be convulsed with laughter/anger etc to be laughing so much or feel so angry that you shake and are not able to stop yourself

3. [transitive] if something such as a war convulses a country, it causes a lot of problems or confusion:
A wave of nationalist demonstrations convulsed the country in 1919.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲