seizure-provoking
|sei-zhure-pro-vok-ing|
🇺🇸
/ˈsiːʒər prəˈvoʊkɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/ˈsiːʒə prəˈvəʊkɪŋ/
capable of causing a seizure
Etymology
'seizure-provoking' is a modern English compound formed from the noun 'seizure' and the present participle 'provoking' (from the verb 'provoke'). 'Provoke' originates from Latin 'provocare', where 'pro-' meant 'forth' and 'vocare' meant 'to call'.
'Seizure' entered English via Old French (saisie, seisir) and the verb 'seize' (Middle English), originally meaning an act of taking or seizing; 'provoke' came into English from Old French 'provoquer', from Latin 'provocare'. The compound combination to describe something that causes a seizure is a modern descriptive formation.
Initially 'seizure' primarily meant an act of seizing (legal/physical taking); over time it gained the medical sense 'sudden attack' or 'fit'. 'Provoke' originally meant 'to call forth' and evolved to mean 'to cause' or 'to incite'. Together they now specifically mean 'capable of causing a medical seizure'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
capable of causing or triggering a seizure (a sudden attack, especially in people with epilepsy); likely to induce convulsive or neurological reaction.
The rapidly flashing lights were seizure-provoking for some viewers.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/07 15:38