swollen

What it means

1. Protuberant or abnormally distended (as by injury or disease).

   swollen knee

   4 more examples

   swollen ankle

   swollen salaries

   swollen thumb

   A 21-year-old woman who was with him was also detained but later released. Witnesses told Ta Nea daily newspaper that she had a bloodied and swollen face.

   2026 September 20, Hafsa Khalifa, “Man, 82, dies after beach fight with 76-year-old over sunlounger in Greece”, in BBC News, archived from the original on 20 Sep 2026, retrieved 21 Sep 2026

   Synonyms: jutting, protuberant, extuberant, tumid, bulging, exserted, extuberant, jutting

In a sentence

swollen ankle

Where it comes from

1. Proto-Germanic*swellaną“to swell”
2. Proto-Germanic*swullanaz
3. Old Englishswollen
4. Middle Englishswollen
5. Englishswollen

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”).