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In the following sentence,

He [the verb] apoplexy a few years back and was suffering from numbness on the left side of the body, hence the need for a cane to walk.

what is the appropriate verb for "apoplexy"? Is it "get" like some other diseases? I checked some online dictionaries but none of them has an example except for one that used "suffering" as an example which is not what I am after because I'm referring to the very moment that it happened.

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    1. Your comment at Jasper Loy's answer should better be within the question. Please edit. 2. suffer can and is also used in the sense you mention. You suffer a stroke or have a heart-attack. 3. You certainly don't 'get' it in the sense of a disease, but you do 'get' in the sense you could say Looking at it all, he got a heart attack!, which is fine.
    – Kris
    Dec 25, 2013 at 10:27
  • There's a technical meaning and an informal meaning. Informally it evokes having a fit or being in a rage.
    – Mitch
    May 6, 2014 at 13:17

3 Answers 3

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An apoplexy is typically not a long-standing medical concern so you don't really "get or "contract" apoplexy.

In your example I would go with:

He experienced an apoplexy...

or

He suffered an apoplexy...

Also, due to the ambiguity of apoplexy as a condition, medical staff generally refer to the part of the body concerned, as in "a pituitary apoplexy" for example.

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    +1 for suffered However, it is an event and therefore needs the indefinite article an: The bite worsened, then he suffered an apoplexy and lay in his bed without the power to speak. (See OP's comment at Jasper Loy, though.)
    – Kris
    Dec 25, 2013 at 10:20
  • Thanks, Kris. I didn't realise it was an event. I will edit my answer.
    – Ste
    Dec 25, 2013 at 10:29
  • @Kris: After a conversation we had in chat, I deleted my comment.
    – Gigili
    Dec 25, 2013 at 10:33
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Try:

He was struck by apoplexy [...]

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I'm unfamiliar with the problem, and I am not sure of the progress apoplexy makes in a human body, but you might be able to word developed:

He developed apoplexy a few years back and was suffering from numbness on the left side of the body, hence the need for a cane to walk.

Alternatively, if you "catch" the ailment, you can use the word contracted:

He contracted apoplexy a few years back and was suffering from numbness on the left side of the body, hence the need for a cane to walk.

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