swoon

[ swoon ]

verb (used without object)

1. to faint; lose consciousness.
2. to enter a state of hysterical rapture or ecstasy:

   The teenagers swooned at the sight of the singing star.

noun

1. a faint or fainting fit; syncope.

swoon

/ swuːn /

verb

1. a literary word for faint
2. to become ecstatic

noun

1. an instance of fainting

Derived Forms

• ˈswooning, adjective
• ˈswooningly, adverb

Other Words From

• swooning·ly adverb
• un·swooning adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of swoon¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (verb) swo(w)nen “to faint,” originally as gerund swowening, swoghning “act of swooning,” ultimately continuing Old English -swōgan (in compounds) “to rush, overrun, choke”; Middle English (noun) partly derivative of the verb, partly extracted from in (a) swoune, on swoune, alteration of a swoune, aswoune “in a swoon,” as if equivalent to a a- ¹ + swoon (noun), but probably continuing Old English āswōgen, past participle of āswōgan “to overcome” ( a- ³ ), or geswōgen (past participle) “senseless, dead”

Word History and Origins

Origin of swoon¹

Old English geswōgen insensible, past participle of swōgan (unattested except in compounds) to suffocate

Example Sentences

Later, his turn as a lothario in the box office hit Crazy Stupid Love made him even more swoon-worthy.

From The Daily Beast

More than anything else, teenagers seemed to swoon over tenderness and vulnerability that the Beatles expressed in their songs.

From The Daily Beast

Long before he took the stage, the mere mention of his name sent this crowd into a swoon.

From The Daily Beast

Like a verbal snake charmer, he could swoon them into missteps, even confessions.

From The Daily Beast

Then Dylan McDermott turns around in an FBI vest and a Dirty Harry attitude, and you swoon.

From The Daily Beast

I have read that Chinamen tie their wives to beams in the roof and lash them with leather thongs until they swoon.

From Project Gutenberg

On the deck she tottered and fell in the dead swoon of exhaustion.

From Project Gutenberg

He had fainted and fallen down out of his chair in a deadly swoon.

From Project Gutenberg

One day after brooding deeply over these matters Laulewasikaw fell upon the earth in a swoon.

From Project Gutenberg

But he had hardly risen when he pressed his hand upon his heart, and falling back in a swoon was borne home to die.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• pass out