SWELLS Synonyms: 189 Similar and Opposite Words

swells 1 of 2

noun

plural of swell

as in projections

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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as in waves

a moving ridge on the surface of water huge swells overwhelmed the tiny craft

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swells

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of swell

as in increases

to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number the club membership has really swelled in recent months

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as in expands

to make greater in size, amount, or number more layoffs will swell the ranks of the unemployed to unprecedented levels

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as in protrudes

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

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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 swells

Noun

Less than a day earlier, astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen had been plucked from 3-foot swells by helicopters and transported them roughly one mile to the USS Murtha. —

Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026 Only the swells from the clusters of UConn fans could be heard by the end of their 71-62 victory in the national semifinals. —

Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 5 Apr. 2026 Just offshore, 50 surfers caught swells. —

Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 Apr. 2026 Only 2200 of them remain, having staved off swells of economic uncertainty, retaining their Irish accents and ways of life. —

Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 2 Apr. 2026 When combined with mega high tides and big swells, waves may batter beaches, causing severe erosion. —

Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 27 Mar. 2026 But rather than big Hawaiian swells, these waves were the crashing sounds of social media users poking fun at the look of the upcoming Disney film. —

Angelique Jackson, Variety, 26 Mar. 2026 The water in Tomales Bay, a narrow inlet northeast of Point Reyes, was choppy Saturday, with swells as high as 3 feet, the sheriff’s statement said. —

Alyce McFadden, San Francisco Chronicle, 23 Mar. 2026 Outside those emotional swells, the family was relieved to be together, and free of the dread that had hung over them in New York. —

Caitlin Dickerson, The Atlantic, 3 Mar. 2026

Verb

And as the brightening world starts to resume familiar form, the glorious chorus swells with the songs of blue tits, goldfinches, chaffinches. —

Literary Hub, 23 Apr. 2026 What really surprised the rather unflappable ISS and Glass Lewis was a tax reimbursement of $334 million that swells the total payout to $886 million. —

Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 23 Apr. 2026 Now, this subsequent Riyadh opening in Al Takhasoussi, the capital’s de facto restaurant quarter, has been a soar-away success, with the dining room still running at full tilt every day of the week as a virtual queue swells into the hundreds. —

Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Apr. 2026 The riverside land designated for Feather River Park covers a swath of floodplain, which takes on water when the river swells, and riverfront trails south of Marysville. —

Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 22 Apr. 2026 The Massachusetts lawmaker is part of a growing chorus of voices in Washington calling for stronger oversight of these betting platforms as interest swells. —

Alex Harring, CNBC, 4 Apr. 2026 My throat kind of swells on the inside sometimes. —

Chanel Vargas, InStyle, 2 Apr. 2026 That was expected to be the last remaining obstacle to the world's biggest sporting event arriving in this 20,000-person suburb tucked between Boston and Providence, Rhode Island, that swells to three times its size for New England Patriots games. —

ABC News, 26 Mar. 2026 The noise of your life recedes and a surge of connectedness and gratitude swells inside of you. —

Outside Online, 18 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for swells

Noun

The projections will be updated daily.

— Dom Luszczyszyn, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2026
Still, some of the hoopla was dialed down, though a series of projections on the wall that described ties to the First Amendment were underscored by the events of the evening.

— Brian Steinberg, Variety, 26 Apr. 2026