- 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
During this hormonal shift, your body holds on to more fluids, meaning you may end up with a puffier face, general bloating and tender, swollen breasts.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
But the person's features were so swollen that she couldn't be sure it was her.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
Early on, Poopies gets swollen lip injections that, someone claims, will last the whole movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
The air was fragranced by the late autumn scent of cornfields full of veggies ready for harvest, rivers swollen with sweet water, and gentle cedar from the nearby trees.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
