sweltering
Americanadjective
-
suffering oppressive heat.
-
characterized by oppressive heat; sultry.
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sweltering
Explanation
Sweltering means uncomfortably hot. Walking home from work on a sweltering day will leave you sweating. A sweltering summer afternoon might cause you to turn on the air conditioning in your apartment or take a cool shower. To be sweltering is more than merely being hot — it's the kind of damp, intense heat that sends everyone to the pool or beach for some relief. The verb swelter came first, from the now obsolete word swelten, "be faint from heat," rooted in the Old English sweltan, "to die or perish."
Vocabulary lists containing sweltering
The Sweltering Words of Summer
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The Glass Castle
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Term-ometer: Synonyms for "Hot"
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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.
But Emma Bacon, who founded Sweltering Cities, argues that meaningful progress will require bigger policy shifts.
From BBC • Dec. 29, 2023
Sweltering classrooms are becoming the norm in Seattle-area school buildings, many of which have no or poor air conditioning systems.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 31, 2023
Sweltering spring temperatures in South Asia, topping 50 degrees Celsius, are likely to have warmed the Indian Ocean.
From Reuters • Sep. 1, 2022
Sweltering lava flows through the astonishing footage in “Fire of Love,” a blazingly lyrical documentary that equally considers an indomitable force of nature and the incomprehensible manifestations of human affection.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 13, 2022
Sweltering heat followed the rising of the sun, and, as it lighted up the desert with its glare, Grace stopped and began her survey of the horizon as requested by the guide.
From Grace Harlowe's Overland Riders on the Great American Desert by Flower, Jessie Graham [pseud.]
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.
