distend

American  

[dih-stend] / dɪˈstɛnd /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to expand by stretching, as something hollow or elastic.

   Habitual overeating had distended his stomach.

   Synonyms:

   bloat, enlarge

   Antonyms:

   contract, shrink

2. to spread in all directions; expand; swell.

   The sea distended about them.

   Synonyms:

   bloat, enlarge

   Antonyms:

   contract, shrink

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distend British  

/ dɪˈstɛnd /

verb

1. to expand or be expanded by or as if by pressure from within; swell; inflate

2. (tr) to stretch out or extend

3. (tr) to magnify in importance; exaggerate

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Related Words

See expand.

Other Word Forms

• distender noun
• distensibility noun
• distensible adjective
• distension noun
• overdistend verb
• undistend verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of distend

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English distenden (from Anglo-French destendre ), from Latin distendere, equivalent to dis- dis- ¹ + tendere “to stretch”

Example Sentences

To actually feel intoxicated, a chimp would need to eat so much fruit that its stomach would become painfully distended.

From Science Daily

Songs like “No Good Deed” and “March of the Witch Hunters” are chopped up and rearranged to allow for more dialogue and less emoting, distending the film into a bloated heap.

From Salon

Pregnancy is a wonder, even through the finale when a parent pushes their newborns into the world, and those tiny humans distend the most intimate parts of their bodies.

From Salon

After weeks of the world seeing images of starving children, with distended stomachs and protruding bones, many will feel like the signs that a famine was imminent were a long time coming.

From BBC

Mrs Cook's symptoms worsened over the following months: her appetite "diminished", she needed to urinate more and by September 2021 her stomach had distended to the point that she looked pregnant.

From BBC