How to Use spasmodic in a Sentence

spasmodic

adjective
  • He made only spasmodic attempts to lose weight.
  • To what was such a spasmodic discord owed?
    — Julio Cortázar, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
  • Getting me to this spasmodic state is, of course, a troll’s sole purpose.
    — Virginia Heffernan, WIRED, 12 Mar. 2018
  • The result of this was a loud blast on the cornet caused by a spasmodic laugh into it.
    — Kori Rumore, chicagotribune.com, 17 Mar. 2022
  • Noise, yes, lots of it, but mostly motion as we are thrown left and right against our straps in spasmodic little jerks.
    — William Harwood, CBS News, 14 July 2019
  • When one of the furry forms tips over without breaking stride, the men burst into spasmodic giggles.
    — Sarah Medford, WSJ, 4 Dec. 2018
  • His body made slow and spasmodic movements, according to the complaint.
    — Carol Robinson | [email protected], al, 3 Mar. 2023
  • Here’s what to know about how common spasmodic dysphonia is, what causes it, and how it’s treated.
    — Angela Haupt, TIME, 29 Jan. 2025
  • Hints of the show’s absolutely spasmodic joy are there in the music choices.
    — Hillary Kelly, Vulture, 23 Dec. 2021
  • But state support in tidal energy—in the UK and beyond—has been spasmodic at best.
    — WIRED, 26 Oct. 2022
  • This week the passing game remained spasmodic, and West Virginia was able to shut down the running game as well.
    — R.j. Coyle, Dallas News, 25 Sep. 2021
  • As a consequence, fragmentary and spasmodic reforms have failed to reach down to the profoundest needs of the poor.
    — Valerie Strauss, Washington Post, 15 Jan. 2018
  • In Nigeria, Baba has worked through record heat and spasmodic, severe rainfalls.
    — thehustle.co, 12 Apr. 2024
  • Meanwhile, Wall Street and the media are spasmodic in their views of the company’s value.
    — Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 1 Mar. 2017
  • Yet Porter lives on in such recordings of single songs more than in the spasmodic revival of shows that often need heavy rewriting to exist onstage at all.
    — Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2020
  • Horrific spasmodic cycles of violence and death is the result.
    — Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 15 Aug. 2014
  • The songs of In Utero are fractured, spasmodic, wrenched out of shape — notes pulled inside out, meanings stood on their pointy little heads and spun for kicks.
    — Howard Hampton, Spin, 21 Sep. 2023
  • Wearing a bowler hat, his physical movements and magnetic smile often mirrored the spasmodic motion of the songs.
    — Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 2 Nov. 2024
  • His voice—despite a longtime condition, spasmodic dysphonia, that can cause spasms in the muscles controlling his speech—was strong and clear.
    — Ryan D'agostino, Town & Country, 19 Oct. 2020
  • Colicky pain occurs as sudden spasmodic abdominal pain that occurs in cycles and then resolves.
    — Anna Giorgi, Verywell Health, 12 July 2024
  • In some cases, people with spasmodic dysphonia may use communication aids or devices, such as those that translate text to speech.
    — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2026
  • Somewhere along the fault line, a section of rock can take the strain no longer and gives way, allowing a tectonic plate to jerk into motion in a series of spasmodic shudders.
    — Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 12 Sep. 2016
  • In more recent years, the star has traded in its steady, 400-day cycle of glaring and quieting for something much shorter and more spasmodic.
    — Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 23 May 2023
  • Kennedy has spasmodic dysphonia, also called laryngeal dystonia, a condition that strains his speech.
    — Ken Alltucker, USA Today, 18 Feb. 2026
  • Because of the stress of the pandemic and running a business, I have been diagnosed with a condition called spasmodic dysphonia.
    — Lisa Deaderick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 15 Aug. 2020
  • Have Donovan Mitchell play like a spasmodic blind man through the first half, relying on Bojan Bogdanovic to save them, to keep them close over that span.
    — Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 Apr. 2022
  • Kennedy’s speech often sounds strained and broken from a condition called spasmodic dysphonia, also called laryngeal dystonia.
    — Will Carless, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
  • Amodei, who has a mop of curly hair and perennially askew glasses, gives the impression of a restless savant who has been patiently coached to restrain his spasmodic energy.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026
  • That's the result of a rare neurological condition known as spasmodic dysphonia, which has afflicted Kennedy for decades.
    — Joe Hernandez, NPR, 29 Jan. 2025
  • Another possibility was spasmodic dysphonia, a condition in which spasms of the vocal cords affect speech.
    — Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post, 18 Dec. 2017

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spasmodic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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