as in blown
enlarged beyond normal from internal pressure
a swollen ankle from a sprain
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Recent Examples of swollen
Who among us had a little pad on our nightstand, a stack of swollen notebooks beneath our bed, pages puffy with scrawl?
—
Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
The swollen fibers then shrink and tighten up during drying, especially under high heat.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
Life, though hectic, felt steady – until late March, when the 26-year-old student discovered a swollen lymph node on her neck that would quietly shift the course of everything.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
And at that moment, in that quiet locker room, with that swollen knee, Corbett didn’t know what to say.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2025
Sterling Glass had many health problems as a child—swollen feet, night sweats, nausea and vomiting, unquenchable thirst, and fatigue that often left him too exhausted to go to school.
—Liz Szabo, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
Kerr suggested that the ankle is still swollen, but the injury is considered fairly minor.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
The swollen finger from catching a sinker wrong.
—Brittany Ghiroli, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
To avoid tired, swollen feet, swap your ankle socks out for these Charmking compression socks, which promote good blood circulation in the air.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 8 Oct. 2025
Literary Hub, 22 Oct. 2025
The swollen fibers then shrink and tighten up during drying, especially under high heat.
—Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 21 Oct. 2025
Life, though hectic, felt steady – until late March, when the 26-year-old student discovered a swollen lymph node on her neck that would quietly shift the course of everything.
—Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 18 Oct. 2025
And at that moment, in that quiet locker room, with that swollen knee, Corbett didn’t know what to say.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 15 Oct. 2025
Sterling Glass had many health problems as a child—swollen feet, night sweats, nausea and vomiting, unquenchable thirst, and fatigue that often left him too exhausted to go to school.
—Liz Szabo, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2025
Kerr suggested that the ankle is still swollen, but the injury is considered fairly minor.
—Alex Kirschenbaum, MSNBC Newsweek, 14 Oct. 2025
The swollen finger from catching a sinker wrong.
—Brittany Ghiroli, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
To avoid tired, swollen feet, swap your ankle socks out for these Charmking compression socks, which promote good blood circulation in the air.
—Amelia McBride, Travel + Leisure, 8 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swollen
distended
Adjective
-
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
-
Following too much pasta or one too many sweet treats, my stomach gets quite sensitive—resulting in a feeling of tightness and a distended, rumbling tummy.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Swollen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swollen. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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