distends

verb

present tense third-person singular of distend
as in expands
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 distends
  1. expands
  2. swells
  3. increases
Verb
  • Drivers who stop or park in Sacramento bike lanes could now face a steeper fine as the city expands its use of artificial intelligence to enforce parking rules.
    — Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 14 July 2026
  • Production expands beyond laboratory scale The researchers have also made progress in manufacturing the material in larger quantities, an important step toward commercial deployment.
    — Sujita Sinha, Interesting Engineering, 14 July 2026
Definition of expands
Verb
  • With an American League team that comes to Citizens Bank Park only every other year, that number swells to 50.
    — Matt Gelb, New York Times, 14 July 2026
  • Conditions will deteriorate further by midweek as northwest swells increase, the Weather Service said.
    — Kassia Bonesteel, CBS News, 13 July 2026
Definition of swells
Verb
  • Near Streets In urban environments, planting along high-traffic streets increases the concentrations of pollutants from car exhaust that can contaminate the fruit.
    — Viveka Neveln, Better Homes & Gardens, 14 July 2026
  • Having the flexibility to work part time or adjust hours is one factor that almost certainly increases the share of women in the labor force in Nordic countries.
    — Nicholas D. Kristof, Mercury News, 14 July 2026
Definition of increases
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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Cite this Entry

“Distends.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/distends. Accessed 21 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on distends

Nglish: Translation of distends for Spanish Speakers

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