What does "swollen" mean?

1. (puffy or enlarged) larger or rounder than usual, often because of a hurt or a medical problem.

How do you use "swollen"?

Often used with 'with' to indicate the cause, such as 'swollen with pride' or 'swollen with rain'.

swollen

adj.

US //ˈswoʊɫən// UK //swˈəʊlən// swollen

1 puffy or enlarged (adj.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Medicine

larger or rounder than usual, often because of a hurt or a medical problem.

abnormally distended or protuberant, typically as a result of injury, infection, or fluid accumulation.

Example

His ankle was swollen and bruised after he tripped on the stairs.

Example

The patient presented with a severely swollen knee, suggesting a significant accumulation of synovial fluid following the impact.

Usage

Often used with 'with' to indicate the cause, such as 'swollen with pride' or 'swollen with rain'.
- puffy
- enlarged
- distended
- inflamed
- shrunken
- flat

Origin

From Middle English swollen, i-swolle, y-swolle, yswolle, ȝeswollen, from Old English swollen, ġeswollen, from Proto-Germanic swullanaz, past participle of Proto-Germanic swellaną (“to swell”). Cognate with West Frisian swollen (“swollen”), Dutch gezwollen (“swollen”), German geschwollen (“swollen”), Swedish svullen (“swollen”).