swelter
Americanverb (used without object)
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swelters,
present (3rd person singular)
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sweltered,
past participle, past
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sweltering
present participle
verb (used with object)
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swelters,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sweltered,
past participle, past
-
sweltering
present participle
-
to oppress with heat.
-
Archaic. to exude, as venom.
noun
verb
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(intr) to suffer under oppressive heat, esp to sweat and feel faint
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archaic (tr) to exude (venom)
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rare (tr) to cause to suffer under oppressive heat
noun
-
a sweltering condition (esp in the phrase in a swelter )
-
oppressive humid heat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sweltersimple
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swelterssimple
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have swelteredperfect
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has swelteredperfect
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am swelteringprogressive
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are swelteringprogressive
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is swelteringprogressive
-
have been swelteringperfect progressive
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has been swelteringperfect progressive
Past
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swelteredsimple
-
had swelteredperfect
-
was swelteringprogressive
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were swelteringprogressive
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had been swelteringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of swelter
1375–1425; late Middle English swelt ( e ) ren (v.), equivalent to swelt ( en ) to be overcome with heat ( Old English sweltan to die; cognate with Old Norse svelta, Gothic swiltan ) + -eren -er 6
Explanation
To swelter is to be hot — very, very hot, like on a humid, ninety-degree day. To swelter is to feel like you're in an oven. This word is most often seen in the form sweltering, as in "The weather is sweltering! It's been over 95 degrees for a week straight." Any form of swelter is going to involve major heat — enough heat to make you sweat buckets. The opposite of swelter is "freeze."
Vocabulary lists containing swelter
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV
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"I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King Jr.
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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.
See Examples For:
Sandbanks are multiplying, depths fall to barely one meter in places, and the river's few remaining fishermen swelter in the heat.
From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026
When the city starts to swelter, the smell of trash sticks ineradicably to a garbageman’s body and soul.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The Baltic Sea offers beach getaways for those who would rather not swelter in Spain or inland.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
Warm spring evenings that soon will lip into summer swelter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2025
I asked Mother if I could cut off my hair, which hung in a dense swelter all the way down my back.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
"Extreme heat is emerging as a structural economic risk, with Europe highly exposed," wrote the trade credit arm of European insurer Allianz as the continent swelters under its second heatwave of the year.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
SEE ALSO: South Korea scrambles as global Scout gathering swelters in ‘heat trap’
From Washington Times ● Aug. 7, 2023
The “heat island” effect of Phoenix’s growing urban footprint means that nighttime also now swelters.
From New York Times ● Jul. 11, 2023
As California swelters, the governor signed a package of bills aimed at protecting the state from extreme heat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2022
Man can exist at the frigid poles even if the temperature is 75 degrees below Fahrenheit zero; and in the deserts and the tropics, he swelters under temperatures of 115 degrees, but he still lives.
From Astronomy: The Science of the Heavenly Bodies by David Peck Todd
Europe has sweltered through one heat wave after another this summer, and its green disavowal of air conditioning comes at an economic cost.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Earlier this week parts of the UK sweltered through another heatwave that peaked on Wednesday, with temperature reaching 35.2C in Writtle, Essex.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
The figure was released as Japan sweltered in a heatwave that has killed at least 14 people over the past week.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
"Europe bakes in fierce heat" is the FT Weekend's headline as it reports the continent sweltered through a fifth day of record-breaking temperatures, with thermometers topping 40C.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Students sweltered in the desks throughout the North Carolina summer before being released in time for the harvest in September and October.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
With Europe sweltering through summer heat waves, the window between culinary treasure and golden puddle has never been narrower.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Typically, the sweltering season will prompt the Swedish singer-songwriter to do something new, like dye her hair black or switch up her personal style.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
In the sweltering heat, fellow fish vendor Faraba Fatty stated bluntly that "without electricity, we have a very bad life".
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Locals have complained that the heat generated by the centres made already sweltering summer temperatures even worse.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
With no air-conditioning, we had little choice but to sleep with the windows open at night, trying to cool the sweltering apartment.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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