expanded 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of expandednext
as in blown up

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

expanded

2 of 2

verb

past tense of expand
1
as in developed
to express more fully and in greater detail an article on the First Ladies that the author later expanded into a book

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in increased
to make greater in size, amount, or number we had to expand the list of wedding guests several times in order to accommodate all the relatives Mother wouldn't dream of excluding

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in extended
to arrange the parts of (something) over a wider area a spare leaf for those times when we have to expand the dining table to accommodate extra guests

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in accelerated
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number water expands when it becomes frozen

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of expanded
Verb
More Great Living Stories From Vogue The Vogue Runway app has expanded! — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 6 Sep. 2026 The survey found that voters favored a generic Democratic candidate for Congress over a Republican 46% to 40%, but the Democratic advantage expanded to 11 points among those who definitely plan to vote. — Zac Anderson, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026 Over the past decade or so, however, as his profile has risen, Greene’s ambition has expanded, too. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2026 Liberty Mutual recently expanded its gallery of characters with a fuzzy yellow creature called Liberty Biberty. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026 Americans' tastes also expanded beyond the traditional luncheonette menu. — Teresa Mull, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026 Online fundraising and social media have dramatically expanded the potential for a campaign. — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2026 Roebbelen expanded it to roughly twice its former surface area. — David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 5 Sep. 2026 Google expanded its Gemini Enterprise AI platform for law firms, offering specialized agents for contract review, legal research, and integration with existing software. — Gene Marks, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expanded
  1. distended
  2. developed
  3. increased
  4. extended
  5. accelerated
  6. swollen
  7. augmented
  8. opened
Adjective
  • Fiber slows gastric emptying, making the stomach more distended.
    — Amy Brownstein, Verywell Health, 27 May 2026
  • The distended episodes were littered with what feels like filler, little of which offered much in the way of narrative value.
    — Emma Flint, IndieWire, 25 Nov. 2025
Definition of distended
Verb
  • The Virginia case has reached discovery, allowing the challengers to seek documents and information about how the program was developed.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Electron diffraction provided another way to monitor the crystal structures as defects developed.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of developed
Verb
  • The eastward shift increased the chances of hurricane-force wind gusts on Niihau and possibly Kauai, especially at higher elevations, the hurricane center warned.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The restrictions have increased pressure on Chinese companies to develop domestic alternatives across the semiconductor supply chain.
    — Christopher McFadden, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of increased
Verb
  • Last month, the 26-year-old forward extended his contract, despite strong interest from Arsenal.
    — Dermot Corrigan, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026
  • The Americans held off Italy for a 55-52 victory that extended their World Cup winning streak to 32 games.
    — Michael Cunningham, AJC.com, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of extended
Verb
  • The rocket’s second stage ignited a single Aquila engine and accelerated to orbital velocity—some 5 miles per second—about seven minutes into the flight.
    — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The July hack by rogue OpenAI autonomous agents on open-source developer platform Hugging Face accelerated the shift and proved that the era of advanced AI hacks had arrived.
    — Samantha Subin, CNBC, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of accelerated
Adjective
  • Historical records indicate that dikes were deliberately breached during a military conflict, allowing the swollen Yellow River to inundate the city.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The trouble was a bacterial abscess on the child’s neck, swollen, red, warm to the touch, about the size of a ping-pong ball, large enough to force the head into a tilt.
    — Eric Boodman, STAT, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of swollen
Verb
  • That will soon be augmented by the Silent Generation, which will pass on much of their $20 trillion to their boomer kids.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 31 Aug. 2026
  • SiriusXM launched a dedicated Dolly Parton Tribute Channel (105) built around her music and related artists and collaborators, augmented by listener recollections.
    — Russ Penuell, Billboard, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of augmented
Verb
  • With a runner at second, Patrick Bailey opened the 10th with a single off Kyle Finnegan (3-1).
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Located in a free trade zone on the outskirts of Lagos, the Dangote Refinery opened two years ago and has become the main supplier of fuels to the Nigerian market, as well as a jet fuel exporter to Europe.
    — Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of opened

Browse Nearby Words

expand
expanded
expanding
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Expanded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expanded. Accessed 9 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of stigma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
anagrams on a chalk board
Word Builder Quiz Vol. 2 Pick the letter that when added to a word will ma...
See All