swollen

[swoh-luhn]

verb

1. a past participle of swell.

adjective

1. enlarged by or as by swelling; swelling; puffed up; tumid.

2. turgid or bombastic.

swollen

/ ˈswəʊlən /

verb

1. a past participle of swell

adjective

1. tumid or enlarged by or as if by swelling

2. turgid or bombastic

Other Word Forms

• swollenly adverb
• swollenness noun
• unswollen adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of swollen¹

First recorded in 1300–50, for the adjective

Example Sentences

Symptoms, such as swollen lips and throat and difficulty breathing, can happen very quickly.

From BBC

More than 80% of plague cases in the U.S. have been in the bubonic form, from which patients will develop swollen, painful lymph nodes called buboes, according to the CDC.

From Los Angeles Times

Then the creek, swollen after a series of big storms in the 1980s, flooded the lower plain.

From Los Angeles Times

Apart from fever and joint pain, other symptoms include rash, headache, muscle pain and swollen joints.

From BBC

Children gaze with sunken eyes and swollen bellies, their cries of hunger echoing into a silence broken only by the roar of bombs.

From Salon

Related Words

• bloated 
• inflamed www.thesaurus.com
• inflated