Synonyms of swells

swells 1 of 2

noun

plural of swell

1

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• projections
• bulges
• sections
• protuberances
• protrusions
• overhangs
• domes
• juts
• portions
• convexities
• pieces
• swellings
• blocks
• knots
• expansions
• bumps
• puffs
• snags
• increases
• lumps
• bunches
• hills
• mounds
• knobs
• humps
• dilatations
• blobs
• escalations
• obtrusions
• enlargements
• knurls
• gibbosities
• nubs

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• pits
• cavities
• depressions
• hollows
• wells
• holes
• dents
• recesses
• valleys
• indentations
• craters
• dips
• basins
• bowls
• concavities
• indentures
• concaves
• indents
• grooves
• troughs
• pockets
• dints
• trenches
• furrows
• impressions
• notches
• dimples
• gouges

2

as in waves

a moving ridge on the surface of water

huge swells overwhelmed the tiny craft

Synonyms & Similar Words

• waves
• seas
• surges
• billows
• tsunamis
• ripples
• curls
• breakers
• whitecaps
• surfs
• rollers
• wavelets
• combers
• riffles
• tidal waves
• ground swells

swells

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of swell

1

as in increases

to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number

the club membership has really swelled in recent months

Synonyms & Similar Words

• increases
• rises
• accelerates
• expands
• climbs
• intensifies
• multiplies
• waxes
• surges
• accumulates
• proliferates
• spreads
• enlarges
• booms
• escalates
• mushrooms
• snowballs
• burgeons
• mounts
• jumps
• rolls up
• gains
• appreciates
• balloons
• builds up
• heightens
• distends
• inflates
• peaks
• skyrockets
• redoubles
• rockets
• crests
• bulks
• puffs (up)
• crescendoes
• blows up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• decreases
• diminishes
• recedes
• wanes
• lessens
• contracts
• dwindles

2

as in expands

to make greater in size, amount, or number

more layoffs will swell the ranks of the unemployed to unprecedented levels

Synonyms & Similar Words

• increases
• expands
• accelerates
• boosts
• augments
• raises
• multiplies
• extends
• intensifies
• amplifies
• enlarges
• enhances
• stokes
• adds (to)
• escalates
• reinforces
• ups
• maximizes
• strengthens
• aggrandizes
• compounds
• builds up
• hypes
• supersizes
• inflates
• jumps
• distends
• dilates
• pumps up
• spikes
• booms
• stretches
• develops
• heightens
• lengthens
• elongates
• magnifies
• skyrockets
• supplements
• prolongs
• bumps (up)
• draws out
• accumulates
• complements
• blows up
• protracts
• collects
• fleshes (out)
• ratchets (up)
• amasses
• rachets (up)
• beefs (up)
• follows up
• parlays

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• decreases
• reduces
• diminishes
• dwindles
• abates
• lessens
• lowers
• downsizes
• subtracts (from)
• shortens
• curtails
• abbreviates
• compresses
• minifies
• abridges
• constricts
• condenses
• de-escalates
• contracts
• retrenches
• cuts back

3

as in protrudes

to extend outward beyond a usual point

at that point the Congo River swells and forms Malebo Pool

Synonyms & Similar Words

• protrudes
• pokes
• bulges
• juts
• billows
• stands out
• bellies
• overhangs
• sticks out
• projects
• pouts
• beetles
• pouches
• starts
• balloons
• bunches
• bags
• inflates
• pooches
• extends
• distends
• dilates
• stretches
• lengthens
• expands
• domes
• elongates
• mushrooms
• snowballs
• blows up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shrinks
• contracts
• compresses
• condenses
• constricts

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of swells

Noun

Confidence is high that Fausto's swells will reach the islands well in advance of the center of the storm – as early as Sunday on the eastern end of the state – increasing surf and dangerous rip currents, the forecast stated. — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 25 July 2026

The hurricane center said swells generated by Fausto could cause life-threatening surf and rip tides in parts of southern California. — ABC News, 24 July 2026

In Harlem, these new arrivals also encountered swells of Black immigrants from French and British colonial powers, also arriving in search of economic opportunity as well as greater freedom of expression. — Steven Johnson, Washington Post, 14 July 2026

The beach hazard statements have been in effect mainly due to the strong southerly swells brought by storms that have been ongoing in the south Pacific, sending waves of energy that slam into the West Coast. — CBS News, 12 July 2026

Options for activities include paddleboarding and chasing Arctic swells in the fjords, sailing through sea cliffs and the uninhabited Hornstrandir Nature Reserve, and spotting whales, seals, Arctic foxes, and more wildlife. — Nicole Hoey, Robb Report, 28 June 2026

The greatest threat of those swells are to beaches that face the southwest. — Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 19 June 2026

Sand moving south from a replenishment project in Surfside three years ago has pushed up into Talbert Marsh with the recent swells and high tides and is being pushed back out to the shoreline by the county, Webb added. — Laylan Connelly, Oc Register, 18 June 2026

Learn to ride Atlantic swells from expert instructors in towns like Lagos. — Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 10 June 2026

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

Coastal flooding also will remain a threat through the early part of the week, as king tides continue to pound the Bay Area coast, and the Pacific Ocean swells stay high because of storm activity in the Southern Hemisphere. — Rick Hurd, Mercury News, 13 July 2026

South of Florence, on Tuscany’s Monte Argentario peninsula, Porto Ercole exudes the same timeless glamour as the Amalfi Coast but on a much smaller scale—and sans swells of cruise ship crowds. — Lane Nieset, Travel + Leisure, 11 July 2026

The more the value of TV deals swells, Master said, the more money leagues leave on the table by not expanding. — Jacob Stern, The Atlantic, 10 July 2026

In the end-credits sequence when Powell’s name appears, the music swells and intensifies, as if someone in the theater cranked the sound up to its maximum level just for him. — Devon Ivie, Vulture, 7 July 2026

Top officials appear as the crowd size swells Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, a 97-year-old Shiite cleric, led the prayers at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque for the late Khamenei and family members killed in the strike. — Nasser Karimi, Los Angeles Times, 5 July 2026

Most people only hear about it when a lymph node swells during a cold, or when a social media video promises a gua sha stone will detox their face. — Allison Palmer, Charlotte Observer, 29 June 2026