swelling 1 of 3

noun

ˈswe-liŋ How to pronounce swelling (audio)
Definition of swellingnext
as in lump
a small rounded mass of swollen tissue the swelling at the site of the insect bite was not too concerning

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swelling

2 of 3

adjective

as in surging

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Dissimilar Words

swelling

3 of 3

verb

present participle of swell
1
as in increasing
to become greater in extent, volume, amount, or number the club membership has really swelled in recent months

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in accelerating
to make greater in size, amount, or number more layoffs will swell the ranks of the unemployed to unprecedented levels

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in protruding
to extend outward beyond a usual point at that point the Congo River swells and forms Malebo Pool

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 swelling
Noun
Those who have blood clots typically first develop swelling, pain or redness along the affected area and an ultrasound is used to diagnose it and search for deeper blood clots, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026 The officer had facial swelling and arm pain and was taken to a local hospital for treatment, a state prosecutor said in court Monday. — Mark Morales, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Adjective
The hope was this would mean less swelling, less pain and, potentially, a significantly faster recovery. — Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 13 May 2026 Another effective anti-swelling remedy is a delicious snack that may be hiding in the fridge. — Kara Nesvig, Allure, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
Leer en español Over the past decade, school districts across Texas have sought to make classrooms safer by swelling the number of police officers on campuses and taking a tougher stance on misbehavior. — Rosie Cima, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026 Since the late nineteenth century, raw white-lead was known to pose a substantial health risk to those exposed to it, prompting symptoms such as swelling of the brain, epileptic convulsions, paralysis, severe colic, and death. — Wendy S. Walters, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for swelling
Recent Examples of Synonyms for swelling
  1. lump
  2. surging
  3. increasing
  4. accelerating
  5. protruding
  6. bruise
  7. rolling
  8. rising
Noun
  • Scallop crudo, a wedge salad piled with jumbo lump crab and sharpened with wasabi dressing, and a lobster roll with saffron coleslaw sit comfortably alongside American classics like a double cheeseburger and fries.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Oct. 2026
  • While recovering from one of the surgeries, Casino felt a lump.
    — Hannah Kliger, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of lump
Adjective
  • The move highlights how surging demand for AI computing capacity is drawing institutional investors, as governments, companies and startups race to build out data centers to support AI workloads.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of surging
Verb
  • Beyond domestic challenges, CATL is also scrambling to build more plants in Europe to avoid running afoul of increasing EU protectionism.
    — Brendan Ruberry, semafor.com, 21 Oct. 2026
  • While the disease remains more common among women over 50, diagnoses among younger women are increasing, prompting cancer specialists to encourage earlier conversations about individual risk.
    — Melissa May, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of increasing
Verb
  • Heading across the middle as Mahomes settled into the pocket, Worthy initially seemed to settle into the middle of the field before accelerating again toward the sideline.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Strong revenue growth, and accelerating demand for our clothes globally, tells us there is a genuine appetite for our British modern luxury proposition.
    — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of accelerating
Verb
  • Once fished to the brink of extinction globally, sand tiger sharks, that iconic aquarium shark with a jaw of protruding, jagged teeth that only a mother could love, have been increasing in the Boston Harbor over the last decade.
    — Asia London Palomba, Christian Science Monitor, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The face is a glossy black plastic with the exterior lenses slightly protruding, keeping the front from looking like a single flat surface.
    — Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of protruding
Noun
  • The responding Oak Bluffs police officers saw bruises on her legs and a red mark on her neck, Scalice said.
    — Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Officers then cuffed the youngster as he was loaded into an ambulance and hospitalized for a fractured femur and a nasty bruise on his head, according to the lawsuit, which was filed by the teen’s dad, Mahmoud Saleh, in Brooklyn Federal Court.
    — John Annese, New York Daily News, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of bruise
Adjective
  • Volkswagen hasn't attempted to turn its three-row family hauler into a rolling origami experiment or a study in aerodynamic sculpture.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The smoothness of Knock Knock echoes through the rolling mid-tempo grooves of Stiltz’s unshowy arrangements, featuring drifting pedal steel from Theo Stocks and tasteful embellishments from Ana Roxanne on piano and vocals.
    — Harry Thorfinn-George, Pitchfork, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of rolling
Verb
  • Fighting autocracy and inequality The Ford Foundation frames its new plan as its answer to rising autocracy, widening inequality, and fading public trust.
    — Sydney Lake, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • This was in 2024 and 2025, when the AI craze was in full swing and Claude and ChatGPT adoption was rising.
    — Brian Jenney, IEEE Spectrum, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of rising

Browse Nearby Words

swellheadedness
swelling
swellings
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Cite this Entry

“Swelling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/swelling. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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