swell 1 of 3

adjective

Definition of swellnext
1
as in great
of the very best kind what a swell time we had at the country club dance

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in happening
being in the latest or current fashion in its heyday as a summer resort, the town was known for its swanky hotels and swell restaurants

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

swell

2 of 3

verb

ˈswel How to pronounce swell (audio)
1
as in to increase
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number the club membership has really swelled in recent months

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to expand
to make greater in size, amount, or number more layoffs will swell the ranks of the unemployed to unprecedented levels

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3
as in to protrude
to extend outward beyond a usual point at that point the Congo River swells and forms Malebo Pool

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

swell

3 of 3

noun

1
as in projection
a part that sticks out from the general mass of something the graceful swell of the bottle was meant to be evocative of the female figure

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in wave
a moving ridge on the surface of water huge swells overwhelmed the tiny craft

Synonyms & Similar Words

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb swell differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of swell are amplify, dilate, distend, expand, and inflate. While all these words mean "to increase in size or volume," swell implies gradual expansion beyond a thing's original or normal limits.

the bureaucracy swelled to unmanageable proportions

In what contexts can amplify take the place of swell?

The synonyms amplify and swell are sometimes interchangeable, but amplify implies the extension or enlargement of something inadequate.

amplify the statement with details

When might dilate be a better fit than swell?

While the synonyms dilate and swell are close in meaning, dilate applies especially to expansion of circumference.

dilated pupils

When could distend be used to replace swell?

The words distend and swell are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, distend implies outward extension caused by pressure from within.

a distended abdomen

When would expand be a good substitute for swell?

Although the words expand and swell have much in common, expand may apply regardless of the manner of increase (such as growth, unfolding, addition of parts).

a business that expands every year

When is it sensible to use inflate instead of swell?

While in some cases nearly identical to swell, inflate implies expanding by introduction of air or something insubstantial and suggests a vulnerability to sudden collapse.

an inflated ego

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 swell
Adjective
The swell two days before Christmas that gave Santa Cruz surfer Alo Slebir the ride of his life on a towering wave at Mavericks off the coast of Half Moon Bay was officially the biggest wave ridden over the most recent season of surfing, the sport’s authorities announced late Saturday. —Julia Prodis Sulek, Mercury News, 14 Sep. 2025 Gardner, Edgerton, De Soto and other parts of southwest Johnson County are seeing their populations swell in recent years as more housing and industrial development comes online. —Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 8 Sep. 2025
Verb
Symptoms can include swelling in the neck or armpit, fatigue, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and feeling full quickly. —Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025 The shore is lined with multimillion-dollar homes, many of them owned by wealthy out-of-towners who swell the county’s population each summer. —Jamie Thompson, The Atlantic, 6 Nov. 2025
Noun
It’s based on a Japanese anime series about a boy who can grow a chainsaw out of his head, and a huge swell of Gen Alpha, Gen-Z, and Millennial men over-indexed to make this one a hit domestically, just as its already found a wave of success abroad. —Brian Welk, IndieWire, 28 Oct. 2025 Dangerous swells and rip currents will affect surrounding islands and coastal areas, including the Bahamas and Bermuda later this week. —Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for swell
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swell
  1. great
  2. happening
  3. increase
  4. expand
  5. protrude
  6. projection
  7. wave
  8. excellent
Adjective
  • WeRide is a member of this year’s Future 50, Fortune’s annual ranking of companies with the greatest potential for growth.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
  • After looking over the latest update from Jim Bowden, the odds of Bregman staying with the Red Sox are not looking too great currently.
    — Drew VonScio, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
Definition of great
Adjective
  • While the overarching trend for fall is still lowest maintenance possible, there's a bit more happening than your typical sunny blondes and balayage brunettes.
    — Bella Cacciatore, Glamour, 2 Sep. 2020
  • What was once a sleepy college town next to a railroad stop is now one of the most happening cities in the state of Texas.
    — Craig Hlavaty, Houston Chronicle, 5 Apr. 2018
Definition of happening
Verb
  • The impact of the government shutdown increased as the Senate repeatedly failed to advance legislation to end the funding lapse.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 Nov. 2025
  • Last year, Reuters reported that the government was preparing to increase usage of crypto assets in its oil exports to overcome the US sanctions.
    — Stefano Pozzebon, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2025
Definition of increase
Verb
  • In addition to WeRide and Pony AI, Baidu is also expanding its robotaxi offerings through its Apollo Go vehicles.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
  • That includes a new and robust collaboration with Brazil’s federal government and 22 of its states—including Pará—to expand cooperation on climate action.
    — MSNBC Newsweek, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
Definition of expand
Verb
  • To add to the hilarity, one of the dachshunds appeared to have chewed through a couch cushion and somehow gotten stuck inside it, with its head and legs filmed protruding through the torn fabric.
    — Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
  • The early word was that the protruding pair was a customized version of Adidas Adistar Cushion 3 sneakers made specifically for Williams.
    — Riley Jones, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2025
Definition of protrude
Noun
  • Paramount‘s third-quarter revenue fell shy of Wall Street analysts’ consensus forecast, but the company issued rosy 2026 projections and upped its target for cost savings from the Skydance merger.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 10 Nov. 2025
  • This map shows the entire globe of the Earth projected onto a Mollweide projection, where areas are accurate and well-preserved and the map is fully connected, with no gaps.
    — Big Think, Big Think, 10 Nov. 2025
Definition of projection
Noun
  • This wave of joy was seen online, where some claimed his victory as India’s own.
    — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
  • Yet today, rising geopolitical instability and a wave of economic nationalism threaten to disrupt the free flows of energy the system relies on — all at a moment when cheaper, cleaner alternatives are available.
    — John Kerry, semafor.com, 6 Nov. 2025
Definition of wave
Adjective
  • Thus far, Arsenal’s excellent form has relegated the injuries to a subplot.
    — James McNicholas, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
  • The carbon nanofiber provides mechanical stability, abundant pore channels, and excellent electrolyte wettability, while the cobalt sites catalyze the adsorption and conversion of polysulfides.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 8 Nov. 2025
Definition of excellent

Browse Nearby Words

sweet tooth
swell
swelled
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Cite this Entry

“Swell.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swell. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.

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