swoon
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to faint; lose consciousness.
-
to enter a state of hysterical rapture or ecstasy.
The teenagers swooned at the sight of the singing star.
noun
verb
-
a literary word for faint
-
to become ecstatic
noun
Other Word Forms
- swooning adjective
- swooningly adverb
- unswooning adjective
Etymology
Origin of swoon
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (verb) swo(w)nen “to faint,” originally as gerund swowening, swoghning “act of swooning,” ultimately continuing Old English -swōgan (in compounds) “to rush, overrun, choke”; Middle English (noun) partly derivative of the verb, partly extracted from in (a) swoune, on swoune, alteration of a swoune, aswoune “in a swoon,” as if equivalent to a a- 1 + swoon (noun), but probably continuing Old English āswōgen, past participle of āswōgan “to overcome” ( a- 3 ), or geswōgen (past participle) “senseless, dead”
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.
The March selloff has reminded some investors of the markets’ year-ago tariff swoon, when the S&P 500 lost 19% between mid-February and early April and then climbed past its previous record by early summer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
The psychology of this team is something that would make Sigmund Freud swoon.
From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026
Ricky Martin covering “Lo Que Le Pasó A Hawaii,” for example, acknowledges white America’s admiration for the “Livin’ La Vida Loca” singer and the way we swoon for that tropical destination.
From Salon • Feb. 9, 2026
I have enjoyed the caustic verve of this Claude.ai promotional campaign, which seems to be heading off the inevitable swoon of the A.I. revolution before it firmly takes hold.
From Slate • Feb. 8, 2026
And Bobo would show these monstrous teeth that looked like dentures when they don’t quite fit, and the beast would grunt and swoon and move its head from side to side.
From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel
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.
