swollen

American  

[swoh-luhn] / ˈswoʊ lən /

verb

1. a past participle of swell.

---

adjective

1. enlarged by or as by swelling; puffed up; tumid.

2. turgid or bombastic.

swollen British  

/ ˈswəʊlən /

verb

1. a past participle of swell

---

adjective

1. tumid or enlarged by or as if by swelling

2. turgid or bombastic

Other Word Forms

• swollenly adverb
• swollenness noun
• unswollen adjective

Etymology

Origin of swollen

First recorded in 1300–50, for the adjective

Explanation

When something's swollen, it's puffed up, rounded, and misshapen. If you've sprained your ankle, it's likely to be swollen and may look more like a grapefruit than the body part you know and love. When something swells up, it's swollen, and that can be anything from knees and glands to pregnant bellies. You can also use swollen more poetically: you can describe someone with a big ego as having a swollen head. A stormy ocean with big, angry waves is a swollen sea. And a state with out-of-control spending has a swollen budget, inflated by special projects and other expenses that there’s not enough money to pay for.

Example Sentences

"Cells lacking the system lost their normal rectangular-like cell shape and instead became round and swollen," Springstein explains.

From Science Daily • Apr. 20, 2026

The company got a bump from the car-buying boom of 2021 and 2022, but its auto revenue underperformed overall light-vehicle production in the years after, as customers sat on swollen inventories.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

"People's feet were swollen from all the walking they had done," recalled Batangouna, who served as a sergeant at the time.

From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026

Moss received a bite to his middle finger that became "severely infected and badly swollen, rendering him unable to play guitar".

From BBC • Mar. 13, 2026

I give a tired smile and feel my swollen eye crinkle.

From "Popcorn" by Rob Harrell

Related Words

• bloated
• inflamed
• inflated