epileptic
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
noun
Usage
Rather than talking about an epileptic or epileptics , it is better to talk about a person with epilepsy and people with epilepsy
Other Word Forms
- antiepileptic adjective
- epileptically adverb
- nonepileptic adjective
- postepileptic adjective
Etymology
Origin of epileptic
First recorded in 1600–10; from Late Latin epilēpticus, from Greek epilēptikós, from epílēpt(os) ( see epilepsy) + -ikos -ic
Explanation
Anything described as epileptic is related to the nervous system disorder that can cause convulsions. An epileptic seizure often makes the body shake uncontrollably. Both epileptic and epilepsy come from a Greek root that means "to seize." It's a good description of an epileptic event, in which a person shakes or moves convulsively as though something has taken hold of them. The causes of this disorder aren't fully understood. Though it was once common to describe a person with epilepsy as an epileptic, it's rarely used that way today.
Vocabulary lists containing epileptic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Abbott watches EEG results, which are really a training screen showing “status epilepticus,” an epileptic seizure.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026
Spier, who lives in Zurich, was skiing with his family and on the ride home suffered an epileptic fit.
From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026
“Ah, this odious swindle, human life,” he swore, after his daughter Jean endured a major epileptic seizure.
From Los Angeles Times • May 9, 2025
Following an investigation, the CPS said Ms Freemantle had suffered an epileptic seizure behind the wheel, which caused her to lose control of the vehicle that then drove into the school.
From BBC • Jan. 28, 2025
We ran arm in arm, tripping through a field rent with furrows and ditches, falling and catching each other in an epileptic dance.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
