swelter
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to oppress with heat.
-
Archaic. to exude, as venom.
noun
verb
-
(intr) to suffer under oppressive heat, esp to sweat and feel faint
-
archaic (tr) to exude (venom)
-
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
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)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act IV
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"I Have a Dream" by Martin Luther King Jr.
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
Warm spring evenings that soon will lip into summer swelter.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2025
They swelter at summer temperatures that eclipse the city average by 8 degrees Fahrenheit and the Catalina Foothills by 12 degrees.
From Salon • Jan. 29, 2024
The same principles apply to commercial aircraft, as evidenced by passenger flight disruptions during periods of prolonged extreme heat in the Southwest, including this summer’s swelter.
From Scientific American • Sep. 14, 2023
Even as it continues to swelter, the South may get a break from steamy weather this week while the Northwest bakes in some of the highest temperatures people there will endure all summer.
From New York Times • Aug. 14, 2023
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
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.
