Meaning
acute pain, pang
- agony, torment, anguish
In a sentence
Ho sentito uno spasimo forte alla schiena.
I felt a strong pang in my back.
Il paziente soffriva di violenti spasimi all'addome.
The patient suffered from severe abdominal pains.
Ha sopportato lo spasimo senza lamentarsi.
He endured the acute pain without complaining.
Word forms (2)
| Word | Word forms |
|---|---|
| spasimo | masculine · singular |
| spasimi | masculine · plural |
Usage notes
- Mostly literary or elevated; in everyday speech Italians more often say dolore, fitta, or crampo depending on the context.
- Often appears in fixed phrases like nello spasimo or tra gli spasimi; less common as a casual standalone noun.
- Do not confuse it with spasmo: spasmo is a physical spasm, while spasimo is more often intense suffering or agony.