swoon

American  

[swoon] / swun /

verb (used without object)

swoons, present (3rd person singular) swooned, past participle, past swooning present participle

1. to faint; lose consciousness.

2. to enter a state of hysterical rapture or ecstasy.

   The teenagers swooned at the sight of the singing star.

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noun

swoons plural

1. a faint or fainting fit; syncope.

swoon British  

/ swuːn /

verb

1. a literary word for faint

2. to become ecstatic

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noun

1. an instance of fainting

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• swooning
  adjective
• unswooning
  adjective
• swooningly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• swoons
  plural

Participles

• swooning
  present
• swooned
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• swoon
  simple
• swoons
  simple
• have swooned
  perfect
• has swooned
  perfect
• am swooning
  progressive
• are swooning
  progressive
• is swooning
  progressive
• have been swooning
  perfect progressive
• has been swooning
  perfect progressive

Past

• swooned
  simple
• had swooned
  perfect
• was swooning
  progressive
• were swooning
  progressive
• had been swooning
  perfect progressive

Future

• will swoon
  simple
• will have swooned
  perfect
• will be swooning
  progressive
• will have been swooning
  perfect progressive

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”

Explanation

To swoon is to faint, due to lack of blood to the brain. Illness, fear, stress, and even happiness can cause people to swoon. Swoon is an old-fashioned way to say "pass out": back in the day, ladies in corsets were always swooning at the slightest stress or smallest nod from a handsome man. Although this word technically means "to faint," today it has more of a positive connotation and isn't used so literally — people say they swoon when they encounter something so wonderful it makes them dizzy with joy. Chocolate cupcakes, the perfect dress, or a stellar home run could make you swoon.

Example Sentences

There was a collective swoon when news came through on Thursday that McTominay, the totem, had an iffy tummy, but he's good now.

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

Volatile stocks, known as “high beta” in finance jargon, have been the only game in town since last April’s “Liberation Day” swoon.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 3, 2026

Palantir stock has tumbled 14% this year as of Tuesday’s close of trading, stalling as part of a software swoon after surging triple digits each of the last three years.

From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026

Both the U.S. and global benchmarks are now on pace for their biggest monthly swoon since the start of the onset of the COVID-19 crisis more than six years ago.

From MarketWatch • May 29, 2026

But his mother, who had an excellent sense of dramatic timing, beat him to it; she executed a beautiful, flawless swoon, landing right at Despereaux’s feet.

From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo

Related Words

• pass out