swoon

1 of 2

verb

ˈswün 

swooned; swooning; swoons

intransitive verb

1

a

: faint

b

: to become enraptured

swooning with joy

2

: droop, fade

swooner noun

swooningly

ˈswü-niŋ-lē 

adverb

swoon

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: a partial or total loss of consciousness

b

: a state of bewilderment or ecstasy : daze, rapture

2

: a state of suspended animation : torpor

swoony

ˈswü-nē 

adjective

Synonyms

Verb

• black out
• conk (out)
• faint
• keel (over)
• pass out

Noun

• daze
• dazedness
• fog
• haze
• muddle
• spin

Examples of swoon in a Sentence

Verb

She almost swooned from fright.

easily swooned at the sight of blood

Noun

she wandered about in a swoon for several days after receiving the tragic news

fell into a swoon after stepping off of the incredibly fast roller coaster

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Millay’s sonnets reckon with the end of love not in a spirit of swooning regret but with brisk, sometimes cynical acceptance. —A.o. Scott, New York Times, 1 May 2025

This arrangement of justice is true to form for You, which traffics in swooning gestures and cute, tidy outcomes for its protago-villain. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 25 Apr. 2025

Noun

The Grizzlies were in the mix for a top seed before a second half swoon doomed them to the play-in. —Arick Wierson, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Apr. 2025

Trump’s sweeping tariffs, especially a 34% measure added to already-steep levies on China, has been the cause of the swoon. —Dade Hayes, Deadline, 4 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English swounen, probably back-formation from swouning, swowening, from iswowen, aswoune, from Old English geswōgen in a swoon

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for swoon

• boon
• brune
• coon
• croon
• dune
• goon
• hewn
• hoon
• june
• loon
• moon
• noon

Kids Definition

swoon

1 of 2 verb

ˈswün 

1

: faint entry 2

2

: to drift or fade gradually

swooner noun

swooningly

ˈswü-niŋ-lē 

adverb

swoon

2 of 2 noun

1

: a partial or total loss of consciousness

2

: a dreamlike state