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intumesce - 4 dictionary results

in⋅tu⋅mesce

   [in-too-mes, -tyoo-]
–verb (used without object), -mesced, -mesc⋅ing.
1. to swell up, as with heat; become tumid.
2. to bubble up.
Origin:
1790–1800; < L intumēscere to swell up, equiv. to in- in- 2 + tumēscere, equiv. to tum(ēre) to swell + -ēscere -esce
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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in·tu·mesce     (ĭn'tōō-měs', -tyōō-)  Pronunciation Key 
intr.v.   in·tu·mesced, in·tu·mesc·ing, in·tu·mesc·es
  1. To swell or expand; enlarge.
  2. To bubble up, especially from the effect of heating.


[Latin intumēscere : in-, intensive pref.; see in-2 + tumēscere, to begin to swell, inchoative of tumēre, to swell; see teuə- in Indo-European roots.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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intumesce

verb
1. move upwards in bubbles, as from the effect of heating; also used metaphorically; "Gases bubbled up from the earth"; "Marx's ideas have bubbled up in many places in Latin America" [syn: bubble up] 
2. expand abnormally; "The bellies of the starving children are swelling" [syn: swell] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Intumesce

In`tu*mesce"\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Intumesced; p. pr. & vb. n. Intumescing.] [L. intumescere; pref. in- in + tumescere to swell up, incho. fr. tumere to swell. See Tumid.] To enlarge or expand with heat; to swell; specifically, to swell up or bubble up under the action of heat, as before the blowpipe.

In a higher heat, it intumesces, and melts into a yellowish black mass. --Kirwan.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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