- past participle of swell.
swollen
Americanverb
adjective
-
tumid or enlarged by or as if by swelling
-
turgid or bombastic
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of swollen
First recorded in 1300–50, for the adjective
Explanation
When something's swollen, it's puffed up, rounded, and misshapen. If you've sprained your ankle, it's likely to be swollen and may look more like a grapefruit than the body part you know and love. When something swells up, it's swollen, and that can be anything from knees and glands to pregnant bellies. You can also use swollen more poetically: you can describe someone with a big ego as having a swollen head. A stormy ocean with big, angry waves is a swollen sea. And a state with out-of-control spending has a swollen budget, inflated by special projects and other expenses that there’s not enough money to pay for.
Vocabulary lists containing swollen
Beowulf vocabulary
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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List 9
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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.
In response, the “Bandit” singer recalled the moment when a doctor told him the left side of his heart was swollen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
While his bloodshot eyes "seemed OK" after washing them, Jodanna said by the next morning they were extremely swollen and he was unable to open them, so she took Hudson to hospital.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Katzenback said the airy feeling I had leaving my treatment was likely linked to temporary changes in fluid distribution, which can “make people feel less swollen or heavy, especially after travel.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
But the person's features were so swollen that she couldn't be sure it was her.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
A shiny, bright red rash, called St. Anthony’s fire, covered his swollen leg, and pus-filled abscesses protruded beneath the skin.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
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.
