tumescent

American  

[too-mes-uhnt, tyoo-] / tuˈmɛs ənt, tyu- /

adjective

1. swelling; slightly tumid.

2. exhibiting or affected with many ideas or emotions; teeming.

3. pompous and pretentious, especially in the use of language; bombastic.

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tumescent British  

/ tjuːˈmɛsənt /

adjective

1. swollen or becoming swollen

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Other Word Forms

• tumescence noun

Etymology

Origin of tumescent

1880–85; < Latin tumēscent- (stem of tumēscēns, present participle of tumēscere to begin to swell), equivalent to tum ( ēre ) to swell + -ēscent- -escent

Example Sentences

Rainwater collecting barrels are often tumescent plastic affairs — and considerable eyesores.

From New York Times

A bouquet of gladioli contains “blooms the color of a nosebleed,” and the linoleum in an apartment is “the tumescent shade of a sore throat.”

From New York Times

“The very act of strutting down the jutting tumescent runway, as it penetrates a crowd of onlookers,” Stein wrote, “is itself an act of violence.”

From The New Yorker

Despite its epic ambitions and tumescent running time, ‘Endgame’ often feels shorter, looser and lighter on its feet than some of its Marvel brethren.

From Los Angeles Times

It is often there at the center of the screen, proud and tumescent.

From The New Yorker