distend

[ dih-stend ]
See synonyms for distend on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with or without object)
  1. to expand by stretching, as something hollow or elastic: Habitual overeating had distended his stomach.

  2. to spread in all directions; expand; swell: The sea distended about them.

Origin of distend

1
First recorded in1375–1425; late Middle English distenden (from Anglo-French destendre ), from Latin distendere, equivalent to dis- dis-1 + tendere “to stretch”

synonym study For distend

1. See expand.

Other words for distend

Opposites for distend

Other words from distend

  • dis·tend·er, noun
  • o·ver·dis·tend, verb
  • un·dis·tend, verb (used with object)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for distend

distend

/ (dɪˈstɛnd) /


verb
  1. to expand or be expanded by or as if by pressure from within; swell; inflate

  2. (tr) to stretch out or extend

  1. (tr) to magnify in importance; exaggerate

Origin of distend

1
C14: from Latin distendere, from dis- 1 + tendere to stretch

Derived forms of distend

  • distender, noun
  • distensible, adjective
  • distensibility, noun
  • distension or distention, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012