swelter

[ swel-ter ]
See synonyms for: swelterswelteredsweltering on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)
  1. to suffer from oppressive heat.

verb (used with object)
  1. to oppress with heat.

  2. Archaic. to exude, as venom.

noun
  1. a sweltering condition.

Origin of swelter

1
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-er6

Other words from swelter

  • un·swel·tered, adjective

Words Nearby swelter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use swelter in a sentence

  • But in that glare and swelter of traffic, a trained human eye could not have recognized any particular car.

    Lad: A Dog | Albert Payson Terhune

British Dictionary definitions for swelter

swelter

/ (ˈswɛltə) /


verb
  1. (intr) to suffer under oppressive heat, esp to sweat and feel faint

  2. (tr) archaic to exude (venom)

  1. (tr) rare to cause to suffer under oppressive heat

noun
  1. a sweltering condition (esp in the phrase in a swelter)

  2. oppressive humid heat

Origin of swelter

1
C15 swelten, from Old English sweltan to die; related to Old Norse svelta to starve, Old High German swelzan to burn with passion; see sultry

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012