distended

[dih-sten-did]

adjective

1. increased, as in size, volume, etc.; expanded; dilated.

   the distended nostrils of the terrified horse.

2. swollen, by or as by internal pressure, out of normal size or shape; protuberant.

   distended wineskins; the distended arteries of his neck.

Other Word Forms

• distendedly adverb
• distendedness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of distended¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; distend + -ed ²

Example Sentences

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.

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It has something to do with the opening glimpse we get of an unsettling Russian snuff video: dangling figures, distended bellies, eyes that plead for help.

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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.

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Onyeaka wondered if that abundance could be harnessed to feed people in conflict zones where children were suffering from malnutrition, their distended stomachs a clear sign of protein deficiency.

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His eye looked "very distended, swollen," he said.

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