swoon

[swoon]

verb (used without object)

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.

noun

1. a faint or fainting fit; syncope.

swoon

/ swuːn /

verb

1. a literary word for faint

2. to become ecstatic

noun

1. an instance of fainting

Other Word Forms

• swooning adjective
• swooningly adverb
• unswooning adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of swoon¹

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”

Word History and Origins

Origin of swoon¹

Old English geswōgen insensible, past participle of swōgan (unattested except in compounds) to suffocate

Example Sentences

Traders took silence from New York's Thanksgiving break as a reason to have a breather and take stock of a healthy rebound from November's swoon that was sparked by AI bubble threats.

Read more on Barron's

Cantor’s recent crypto success could prove transitory, given the recent swoon in cryptocurrencies and the industry’s history of booms and busts.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Some traders have said the drop in bitcoin may be forcing some other selling in the traditional markets, which swooned this week.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This year’s Liberation Day swoon felt similar: It took just 4.3 months for the S&P 500 to reach a fresh high.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Stocks have enjoyed a healthy rally since their tariff-fuelled swoon in April, with tech firms leading the way as companies pumped eye-watering amounts of cash into all things linked to artificial intelligence.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• pass out