Definition of Tarantism

a psychological illness that gives people an overwhelming impulse to dance, once believed to have been caused by the bite of a Tarantula

Examples of Tarantism in a sentence

Tarantism gave many people the hysterical urge to dance in 15th century Italy, something that confused those that were not afflicted by it.  🔊

Those afflicted with Tarantism feel the overwhelming desire to dance, so much that they cannot stop themselves from doing so.  🔊

If you want to dance for no logical reason you may have Tarantism, though it probably wasn’t caused by a Tarantula bite.  🔊

Tarantism is a hysterical affliction that makes people dance without a thought, but it was much more common hundreds of years ago than it is now.  🔊

The illness Tarantism is called as such because people believed it was caused by Tarantulas, though the hysterical urge to dance is not actually caused by that.  🔊

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