distended
Americanadjective
-
increased, as in size, volume, etc.; expanded; dilated.
the distended nostrils of the terrified horse.
-
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
Etymology
Origin of distended
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yet had Beijing followed through on the financial liberalization envisioned in the WTO agreement, the housing market might not have grown so distended or the balance sheets of local governments so precarious.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
To actually feel intoxicated, a chimp would need to eat so much fruit that its stomach would become painfully distended.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 1, 2025
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 ● Mar. 29, 2025
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.
From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2025
She turned in the water, her eyes open, her cheeks distended with the effort of holding her breath, and held out her left hand.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
