Petit Mal – mild seizure marked by diminished awareness, usually with a blank stare

To remember the definition of the word petit mal, use the following mnemonic:

The doctor put the teen's malfunction (petit mal) down to mild seizures indicated by a blank stare.

Examples of petit mal in a sentence

Some people don't even notice they are having a petit mal episode.

The child was terrified by her first petit mal.

For most of his life, people thought John's petit mal episodes were just him daydreaming.