distend
[ dih-stend ]
verb (used with or without object)
to expand by stretching, as something hollow or elastic: Habitual overeating had distended his stomach.
to spread in all directions; expand; swell: The sea distended about them.
Origin of distend
1First 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
to expand or be expanded by or as if by pressure from within; swell; inflate
(tr) to stretch out or extend
(tr) to magnify in importance; exaggerate
Origin of distend
1C14: 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
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