swollen

[ swoh-luhn ]

verb

1. a past participle of swell.

adjective

1. enlarged by or as by swelling; swelling; puffed up; tumid.
2. turgid or bombastic.

swollen

/ ˈswəʊlən /

verb

1. a past participle of swell

adjective

1. tumid or enlarged by or as if by swelling
2. turgid or bombastic

Derived Forms

• ˈswollenly, adverb
• ˈswollenness, noun

Other Words From

• swollen·ly adverb
• swollen·ness noun
• un·swollen adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of swollen¹

First recorded in 1300–50, for the adjective

Example Sentences

She said bond yields were set to stay "volatile" as institutions financing government borrowing "keep a more suspicious eye trained on what the swollen investment budget will be spent on".

From BBC

Bettina Brendel, whose mammoth, six-panel 1969 painting “Particles or Waves?” gave the show its title, attempts with mixed success to evoke the foundational duality’s puzzling contradictions, laying out a sequence of crosshatch marks, jagged stripes and swollen curves.

From Los Angeles Times

Isiekwe has won 11 England caps, having made his debut as a 19-year-old in 2017, but faced the prospect of early retirement two years ago after an MRI scan showed his aorta had swollen dangerously.

From BBC

Another soldier, Taras, has tied a tourniquet around his arm to stop the bleeding from a shrapnel wound, but now - more than 10 hours later - his arm looks swollen and pale and he can’t feel it.

From BBC

Before consuming, inspect all food for any signs of spoilage, and discard any canned goods that appear swollen, dented or corroded.

From Salon

Related Words

• bloated
• inflamed
• inflated