apoplectic

English

WOTD – 12 June 2007

Etymology

From French apoplectique, from Late Latin apoplēcticus, from Ancient Greek ἀποπληκτικός (apoplēktikós), from ἀπόπληκτος (apóplēktos), from ἀποπλήσσω (apoplḗssō), from ἀπό (apó, “of, from”) + πλήσσω (plḗssō, “I strike”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌæp.əˈplɛk.tɪk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛktɪk

Adjective

apoplectic (comparative more apoplectic, superlative most apoplectic)

1. (medicine) Of or relating to apoplexy.
2. (figurative) Marked by extreme anger or fury.
   • 1960 July 11, Harper Lee, chapter 11, in To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC:

     Once she heard Jem refer to our father as 'Atticus' and her reaction was apoplectic.

   • 2005 December 12, The New Yorker:

     Speak of the devil—he marches through the door, and becomes apoplectic when he learns of the upheaval.

   • 2011 March 13, Chris Bevan, “Stoke 2 - 1 West Ham”, in BBC‎^[1]:

     The decision left Potters boss Tony Pulis apoplectic on the touchline, a feeling his West Ham counterpart Avram Grant was to share immediately after the break.

   • 2014 August 27, Stephanie Zacharek, “The Last of Robin Hood Wrestles with a Star's Underage Love”, in The Village Voice‎^[2], archived from the original on 3 September 2014:

     If older man/younger women matchups make many people uncomfortable, the older man/much younger women combo tends to make them apoplectic.

   • 2022, Chuck Klosterman, The Nineties, New York: Penguin Press, →ISBN:

     Yet when one relistens to the original Rock, Rot & Rule broadcast, the most salient element is not the comedy. It’s the apoplectic phone calls from random WFMU listeners.

3. (archaic) Effused with blood.

Derived terms

• antiapoplectic
• postapoplectic

Related terms

• apoplectically
• apoplexy

Translations

of or relating to apoplexy

• Catalan: apoplèctic
• Finnish: apoplektinen, halvaus- (fi)
• Galician: apopléctico
• German: apoplektisch (de)
• Greek: αποπληκτικός (el) (apopliktikós)

  Ancient Greek: ἀποπληκτικός (apoplēktikós)

• Polish: apoplektyczny (pl)
• Portuguese: apopléctico, apoplético (pt)
• Romanian: apoplectic (ro) m or n
• Spanish: apopléjico, apoplético
• Swedish: apoplektisk (sv)

marked by extreme anger

• Finnish: (of a person) raivoissaan (fi), raivostunut (fi), (of anger) silmitön (fi)
• Portuguese: apopléctico, apoplético (pt)
• Swedish: apoplektisk (sv)

effused with blood

Noun

apoplectic (plural apoplectics)

1. A person suffering from apoplexy.

Translations

person suffering from apoplexy

• Finnish: halvauspotilas
• Polish: apoplektyk (pl) m, apoplektyczka f

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French apoplectique.

Adjective

apoplectic m or n (feminine singular apoplectică, masculine plural apoplectici, feminine/neuter plural apoplectice)

1. apoplectic

Declension

Declension of apoplectic

		singular				plural
		masculine	neuter	feminine		masculine	neuter	feminine
nominative- accusative	indefinite	apoplectic		apoplectică		apoplectici	apoplectice
	definite	apoplecticul		apoplectica		apoplecticii	apoplecticele
genitive- dative	indefinite	apoplectic		apoplectice		apoplectici	apoplectice
	definite	apoplecticului		apoplecticei		apoplecticilor	apoplecticelor