swoon
Americanverb (used without object)
-
swoons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swooned,
past participle, past
-
swooning
present participle
-
to faint; lose consciousness.
-
to enter a state of hysterical rapture or ecstasy.
The teenagers swooned at the sight of the singing star.
noun
-
swoons
plural
verb
-
a literary word for faint
-
to become ecstatic
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
swoonsimple
-
swoonssimple
-
have swoonedperfect
-
has swoonedperfect
-
am swooningprogressive
-
are swooningprogressive
-
is swooningprogressive
-
have been swooningperfect progressive
-
has been swooningperfect progressive
Past
-
swoonedsimple
-
had swoonedperfect
-
was swooningprogressive
-
were swooningprogressive
-
had been swooningperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing swoon
Love Letter Words for Valentine's Day
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!
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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!
Walk Two Moons
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.
See Examples For:
The swoon in stocks highlighted the close linkages between the economy, markets and a relatively small group of technology highfliers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
Under cross-examination by Brand's barrister, Ian Winter KC, it was put to Dobson that in his witness statement he said that Russell Brand was one of few men he knew that women would swoon over.
From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026
A quick look at Salesforce’s stock price, for instance, shows it is now back to where it started the year, after a 40% swoon.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
Some spot Franklin and Nigel and smile and swoon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
The girls swoon as he dives for cover.
From "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" by J.K. Rowling
However, with strong earnings providing fundamental support, those swoons are likely to be the exception rather than the norm.
From Barron's ● Jun. 8, 2026
When fear is rising, traders are typically more likely to pay up for options to protect their portfolios, meaning the VIX tends to spike when the market swoons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
Everybody swoons when they put four and five on weaker teams.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2025
“Mommy, you are the best cook in the world,” she swoons, kissing up to my wife.
From Salon ● Apr. 9, 2024
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they rethought the whole show once America swoons over Cha-Cha the chow chow.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
His fund rose 1.9% last week when AI stocks swooned.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Within about 10 days the S&P 500 had shed nearly 14% as stocks swooned following the “Liberation Day” tariff announcement at the start of April.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 11, 2026
“Spartacus: Blood and Sand” arrived smack in the middle of the most prestigious stretch of television’s modern Golden Age, when audiences swooned over “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men.”
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2025
None of this was good news, but if investors were on board with the long-term prospects of the neocloud, the stock wouldn’t have swooned so hard.
From Barron's ● Nov. 13, 2025
Even as he swooned he caught, as through a swirling mist, a glimpse of Strider leaping out of the darkness with a flaming brand of wood in either hand.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Over five books, it grows into a sprawling story of war, power and morally ambiguous immortals, in a formula that leaves its audience of mostly young women swooning.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
While we were swooning over “WandaVision” back in 2021, we couldn’t have known Marvel was softening us up for the AI revolution.
From Salon ● Oct. 23, 2026
“One Man” is a gorgeous slice of baroque pop, with acoustic guitar and a string quartet, and on the swooning ballad “Where Is Gone?”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
If you can’t remember what it was like to try to tiptoe while swooning, your heart barely able to stay in your chest, you were never a teenager.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
His girls were playful, wistful, always dancing across the house, jumping from bed to bed, singing with feigned vibrato, swooning.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
