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tumescent

[ too-mes-uhnt, tyoo- ]
/ tuˈmɛs ənt, tyu- /
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See synonyms for: tumescent / tumescence on Thesaurus.com

adjective
swelling; slightly tumid.
exhibiting or affected with many ideas or emotions; teeming.
pompous and pretentious, especially in the use of language; bombastic.
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Origin of tumescent

1880–85; <Latin tumēscent- (stem of tumēscēns, present participle of tumēscere to begin to swell), equivalent to tum(ēre) to swell + -ēscent--escent

OTHER WORDS FROM tumescent

tu·mes·cence, noun

Words nearby tumescent

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tumescent in a sentence

  • The bear, suddenly tumescent, sexually penetrates one of the ubiquitous sandals seen on Russian men anytime in summer.

  • Except for the occasional mosquito, there was no sound save the tumescent sea and his voice.

    Bab: A Sub-Deb|Mary Roberts Rinehart

British Dictionary definitions for tumescent

tumescent
/ (tjuːˈmɛsənt) /

adjective
swollen or becoming swollen

Derived forms of tumescent

tumescence, noun

Word Origin for tumescent

C19: from Latin tumescere to begin to swell, from tumēre
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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