distending

verb

present participle of distend
as in swelling
to make or become larger especially because of pressure from inside The illness can cause the stomach to distend.

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for distending
  1. swelling
  2. expanding
  3. increasing
Verb
  • However, due to swelling, Lasko still doesn’t have feeling in his lower half just yet.
    — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
  • The pair were pushed into the body wherever swelling threatened a patient’s health, or exploration of an inner cavity was warranted.
    — Katherine Ott, The Conversation, 2 July 2026
Definition of swelling
Verb
  • The 585-acre neighborhood contains 5 million square feet of office space, including 250,000 square feet of medical offices where John Muir Health has been expanding.
    — George Avalos, Mercury News, 6 July 2026
  • The mission won't just hunt for aliens, but rather explore these habitable planets and their atmospheres, expanding our understanding of other worlds while also being used for a variety of astronomical purposes.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of expanding
Verb
  • Getty Images Major air-conditioning makers such as Japan’s Daikin are also trimming costs by increasing the use of aluminum.
    — Tim Treadgold, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
  • Thanks to the design, all three elements are evenly separated upon exiting the barrel, improving firing accuracy and substantially increasing the probability of hitting small targets, reported TASS.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 8 July 2026
Definition of increasing
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.

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“Distending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distending. Accessed 11 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on distending

Nglish: Translation of distending for Spanish Speakers

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