distend

American  

[dih-stend] / dɪˈstɛnd /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to expand by stretching, as something hollow or elastic.

   Habitual overeating had distended his stomach.

   Synonyms:

   bloat, enlarge

   Antonyms:

   contract, shrink

2. to spread in all directions; expand; swell.

   The sea distended about them.

   Synonyms:

   bloat, enlarge

   Antonyms:

   contract, shrink

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distend British  

/ dɪˈstɛnd /

verb

1. to expand or be expanded by or as if by pressure from within; swell; inflate

2. (tr) to stretch out or extend

3. (tr) to magnify in importance; exaggerate

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Related Words

See expand.

Other Word Forms

• distender noun
• distensibility noun
• distensible adjective
• distension noun
• overdistend verb
• undistend verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of distend

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English distenden (from Anglo-French destendre ), from Latin distendere, equivalent to dis- dis- ¹ + tendere “to stretch”

Example Sentences

Pregnancy is a wonder, even through the finale when a parent pushes their newborns into the world, and those tiny humans distend the most intimate parts of their bodies.

From Salon • Nov. 9, 2025

Its body seemed to distend, its muscles to melt.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 11, 2019

Like dispatches from another dimension, Katz’s drawings distend the ordinary geometry of the comics page, much as desire contorts the imagination.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2018

Does the league really want to so distend its compensation scale for any commissioner, much less this one?

From Washington Post • Nov. 14, 2017

The face of Etienne’s watch appears to distend.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr