swoon

American  

[swoon] / swun /

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.

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noun

1. a faint or fainting fit; syncope.

swoon British  

/ swuːn /

verb

1. a literary word for faint

2. to become ecstatic

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noun

1. an instance of fainting

Other Word Forms

• swooning adjective
• swooningly adverb
• unswooning adjective

Etymology

Origin of swoon

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”

Example Sentences

The March selloff has reminded some investors of the markets’ year-ago tariff swoon, when the S&P 500 lost 19% between mid-February and early April and then climbed past its previous record by early summer.

From The Wall Street Journal

By Monday morning, with global markets swooning, he said the Iranians were engaging in "constructive" talks with the US.

From BBC

The theater reopened this past weekend with “The Great Bank Robbery,” a 30-minute-plus show in which audiences are encouraged to boo, hiss and swoon over the characters, a Bird Cage tradition since 1954.

From Los Angeles Times

It’s been the favorite since sending critics and film fans swooning upon release in September.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Reminders of Him” could use a little more swooning, a little less of the endless middle stretch of driving and talking, interrupted by wet sprints through thunderstorms.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• pass out