swollen
Use Swollen in a sentence
lən verb
1.
a past participle of swell.
Related forms
swol·len·ly, adverb
swol·len·ness, noun
un·swol·len, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
verb (used without object)
1.
to grow in bulk, as by the absorption of moisture or the processes of growth.
2.
Pathology. to increase abnormally in size, as by inflation, distention, accumulation of fluids, or the like: Her ankles swelled from standing.
3.
to rise in waves, as the sea.
4.
to well up, as a spring or as tears.
5.
to bulge out, as a sail or the middle of a cask.
verb (used with object)
10.
to cause to grow in bulk.
11.
to cause to increase gradually in loudness: to swell a musical tone.
12.
to cause (a thing) to bulge out or be protuberant.
13.
to increase in amount, degree, force, etc.
14.
to affect with a strong, expansive emotion.
noun
16.
the act of swelling or the condition of being swollen.
17.
inflation or distention.
18.
a protuberant part.
19.
a wave, especially when long and unbroken, or a series of such waves.
20.
a gradually rising elevation of the land.
21.
an increase in amount, degree, force, etc.
22.
a gradual increase in loudness of sound.
23.
Music.
a.
a gradual increase (crescendo) followed by a gradual decrease (diminuendo) in loudness or force of musical sound.
b.
the sign (< >) for indicating this.
c.
a device, as in an organ, by which the loudness of tones may be varied.
24.
a swelling of emotion within one.
25.
Slang.
a.
a fashionably dressed person; dandy.
b.
a socially prominent person.
adjective Informal.
26.
(of things) stylish; elegant: a swell hotel.
27.
(of persons) fashionably dressed or socially prominent.
28.
first-rate; fine: a swell party.
Origin:
before 900; Middle English swellen (v.), Old English swellan; cognate with Dutch zwellen, German schwellen, Old Norse svella; akin to Gothic ufswalleins pride
before 900; Middle English swellen (v.), Old English swellan; cognate with Dutch zwellen, German schwellen, Old Norse svella; akin to Gothic ufswalleins pride
Related forms
re·swell, verb, re·swelled, re·swelled or re·swol·len, re·swell·ing.
un·der·swell, verb (used without object), un·der·swelled, un·der·swelled or un·der·swol·len, un·der·swell·ing.
un·der·swell, noun
un·swelled, adjective
Synonyms
1. distend, expand. 5. protrude. 10. inflate, expand. 17. swelling. 18. bulge. 19. billow. 27, 28. grand.
1. distend, expand. 5. protrude. 10. inflate, expand. 17. swelling. 18. bulge. 19. billow. 27, 28. grand.
Antonyms
1. contract. 13. decrease, diminish.
1. contract. 13. decrease, diminish.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
|
Link To swollen
00:10
Swollen
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is fletcherise. Does it mean:
| to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
swell (swɛl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb , swells, swelling, swelled, swollen, swelled | |
| 1. | contract Compare contract to grow or cause to grow in size, esp as a result of internal pressure |
| 2. | to expand or cause to expand at a particular point or above the surrounding level; protrude |
| 3. | to grow or cause to grow in size, amount, intensity, or degree: the party is swelling with new recruits |
| 4. | to puff or be puffed up with pride or another emotion |
| 5. | (intr) (of seas or lakes) to rise in waves |
| 6. | (intr) to well up or overflow |
| 7. | (tr) to make (a musical phrase) increase gradually in volume and then diminish |
| —n | |
| 8. | a. the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea |
| b. a succession of waves or a single large wave | |
| 9. | a swelling or being swollen; expansion |
| 10. | an increase in quantity or degree; inflation |
| 11. | a bulge; protuberance |
| 12. | a gentle hill |
| 13. | informal a person very fashionably dressed |
| 14. | informal a man of high social or political standing |
| 15. | music a crescendo followed by an immediate diminuendo |
| 16. | music Also called: swell organ |
| a. a set of pipes on an organ housed in a box (swell box) fitted with a shutter operated by a pedal, which can be opened or closed to control the volume | |
| b. choir Compare great the manual on an organ controlling this | |
| —adj | |
| 17. | informal stylish or grand |
| 18. | slang excellent; first-class |
| [Old English swellan; related to Old Norse svella, Old Frisian swella, German schwellen] | |
| swollen (ˈswəʊlən) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | a past participle of swell |
| —adj | |
| 2. | tumid or enlarged by or as if by swelling |
| 3. | turgid or bombastic |
| 'swollenly | |
| —adv | |
| 'swollenness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
swell
O.E. swellan "grow or make bigger" (past tense sweall, pp. swollen), from P.Gmc. *swelnanan (cf. O.S. swellan, O.N. svella, O.Fris. swella, M.Du. swellen, Du. zwellen, O.H.G. swellan, Ger. schwellen), of unknown origin.
swell
early 13c., "a morbid swelling," from swell (v.). In ref. to a rise of the sea, it is attested from c.1600. The meaning "wealthy, elegant person" is first recorded 1786; hence the adj. meaning "fashionably dressed or equipped" (1810), both from the notion of "puffed-up, pompous"
behavior. The sense of "good, excellent" first occurs 1897, and as a stand-alone expression of satisfaction it is recorded from 1930 in Amer.Eng.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary
swell definition
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
It was horrible, her belly was swollen up so much her skin was almost transparent, you could see the veins.
There, a crate filled with the swollen purple truncheons of eggplants.
It had much of the tone of a civil-rights rally, swollen with the revolutionary fervor and progressive rhetoric of the sixties.
Occasionally, there may be fever and swollen lymph nodes of the head and neck.
Matching Quote
Nearby Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
