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
-
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:
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
Technology stocks tumbled on Tuesday, extending a swoon that began in early June, as investors anxiously await the historic SpaceX IPO later this week and retreat from hot parts of the artificial-intelligence playbook.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 9, 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
The hard, grooved candy stick is both sweet and sour, a jolt of flavor so intense I almost swoon.
From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline
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
For example, it often swoons months before economists predict recessions and then rallies before they give the all-clear.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Everybody swoons when they put four and five on weaker teams.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2025
On top of all that, swoons for the Samantha Jones of it all – an amuse bouche successfully served that's bound to create issues to surmount down the road.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2023
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
Pessimists recalled the last time New Yorkers swooned over a charismatic mayoral candidate who inspired the young and promised a new era: John Lindsay.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
Jason then joked that maybe he should leave, and give them some privacy, as Swift swooned.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 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
The girls swooned as Petra swept Sinjin up into her arms.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
They love complaining about the characters they hate and swooning over the characters they adore.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 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
It’s been the favorite since sending critics and film fans swooning upon release in September.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 14, 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
But they were swooning and nodding in agreement.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
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.
