as in blown
enlarged beyond normal from internal pressure
a swollen ankle from a sprain
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Recent Examples of swollen
This $15 option from Basic Concepts attaches to your tray table, creating a swinging hammock that provides relief for tired, swollen feet.
—
Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 6 Jan. 2026
Or noticing that your hands feel inexplicably stiff and swollen, making simple tasks like opening a jar or even typing feel unusually difficult.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 5 Jan. 2026
Rocky, sporting a swollen eye and pink rollers, ends up arrested and taken to jail with his friends.
—Ilana Kaplan, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026
The post cycled through several photos of Fineman, with many featuring her swollen or bruised face, recovering from various treatments at the med spa.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Jan. 2026
Every kind of image and sculpture can be found floating somewhere in this swollen gut of a painting.
—Jackson Arn, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Your blood isn’t getting its proper circulation in the body, which can lead to feeling swollen and uncomfortable at the least and actually cause blood clots at worst.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 26 Dec. 2025
However, over time, when the swollen metallic fuel repeatedly comes into contact with the cladding, the latter degrades and becomes brittle, thereby shortening the reactor’s lifetime.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 18 Dec. 2025
Rivers are dangerously swollen after a days-long deluge from a powerful atmospheric river triggered historic flooding, tens of thousands of evacuations and dozens of water rescues.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 12 Dec. 2025
Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 6 Jan. 2026
Or noticing that your hands feel inexplicably stiff and swollen, making simple tasks like opening a jar or even typing feel unusually difficult.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 5 Jan. 2026
Rocky, sporting a swollen eye and pink rollers, ends up arrested and taken to jail with his friends.
—Ilana Kaplan, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026
The post cycled through several photos of Fineman, with many featuring her swollen or bruised face, recovering from various treatments at the med spa.
—Shania Russell, Entertainment Weekly, 4 Jan. 2026
Every kind of image and sculpture can be found floating somewhere in this swollen gut of a painting.
—Jackson Arn, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025
Your blood isn’t getting its proper circulation in the body, which can lead to feeling swollen and uncomfortable at the least and actually cause blood clots at worst.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 26 Dec. 2025
However, over time, when the swollen metallic fuel repeatedly comes into contact with the cladding, the latter degrades and becomes brittle, thereby shortening the reactor’s lifetime.
—Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 18 Dec. 2025
Rivers are dangerously swollen after a days-long deluge from a powerful atmospheric river triggered historic flooding, tens of thousands of evacuations and dozens of water rescues.
—Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 12 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swollen
Adjective
-
The distended episodes were littered with what feels like filler, little of which offered much in the way of narrative value.—
Emma Flint,
IndieWire,
25 Nov. 2025
-
Once per act, a second duo crashes in on Didi and Gogo, providing the tramps’ power balance with a lurid, distended foil.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
29 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The look featured a hood and a puffed silhouette.—
Catherine Santino,
PEOPLE,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Bake until puffed and golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
2 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swollen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swollen. Accessed 10 Jan. 2026.
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