swoon
Americanverb (used without object)
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swoons,
present (3rd person singular)
-
swooned,
past participle, past
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swooning
present participle
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to faint; lose consciousness.
-
to enter a state of hysterical rapture or ecstasy.
The teenagers swooned at the sight of the singing star.
noun
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swoons
plural
verb
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a literary word for faint
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to become ecstatic
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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swoonsimple
-
swoonssimple
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have swoonedperfect
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has swoonedperfect
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am swooningprogressive
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are swooningprogressive
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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
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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.
See Examples For:
Investors aren’t bracing for some shocking development that would cause a market swoon, but they’re unusually concerned about some specific stocks and sectors, according to Citadel Securities strategist Scott Rubner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
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
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
I wanted to be the person who wrote poems that moved the hearts of wicked men and made beautiful women swoon at my feet.
From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers
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
The dreaded Hindenburg Omen, a technical indicator that has preceded stock market swoons, flashed several times in January and February.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
Everybody swoons when they put four and five on weaker teams.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2025
The soundtrack swoons with the ’60s pop ballad “I Will Follow Him.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2025
Fortunately the man swoons and Kropp is able to help us.
From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque
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
Stocks swooned into the red, later clawing back some of that ground to finish the trading session mixed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025
I’m not trying to rain on the parade of the millions of mini-Elphabas out there who swooned to see Cynthia Erivo sing about the difficulties of being green.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 24, 2025
Soon after, he threw out the first pitch in the third game of the World Series at Yankee Stadium and the media swooned over his perfect delivery.
From Salon ● Dec. 18, 2024
I nearly swooned in the mill and flow of Stanleyville—people, cars, animals in the street, the austere gaze of windows in the tall concrete buildings.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
The boxing world is swooning over Moses Itauma.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2026
By Monday morning, with global markets swooning, he said the Iranians were engaging in "constructive" talks with the US.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026
“Reminders of Him” could use a little more swooning, a little less of the endless middle stretch of driving and talking, interrupted by wet sprints through thunderstorms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
When Bowie briefly takes Connelly’s hand for the briefest one-two-three, one-two-three, imagining millions of hearts swooning in concert isn’t hard to do.
From Salon ● Jan. 24, 2026
She had one hand clutched to her shoulder, holding the swooning dæmon in place.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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.
