| Library / English Dictionary |
VELLICATION
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
A sudden muscle spasm; especially one caused by a nervous condition
Synonyms:
twitch; twitching; vellication
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("vellication" is a kind of...):
cramp; muscle spasm; spasm (a painful and involuntary muscular contraction)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "vellication"):
tic (a local and habitual twitching especially in the face)
blepharism (condition in which a person blinks continuously)
fibrillation (muscular twitching involving individual muscle fibers acting without coordination)
fasciculation (muscular twitching of contiguous groups of muscle fibers)
Derivation:
vellicate (touch (a body part) lightly so as to excite the surface nerves and cause uneasiness, laughter, or spasmodic movements)
