tumescent

T1U1M3E1S1C3E1N1T1
US/tuˈmɛsənt/US/tjuˈmɛsənt/

adjective

Swollen or distended with fluid, as of erectile tissue.

Similar
tumidturgescentturgidpuffyintumescentdistendedbloatedswollen
OriginLatin tumēscēns →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

adjectivetumescent (comparative more tumescent, superlative most tumescent)

comparative more tumescent · superlative most tumescent

  1. Swollen or distended with fluid, as of erectile tissue.
  2. Inflated or overblown.

    I think that in Gloria MacMillan uses this tumescent language for a comparatively modest purpose — to show how it was between men and women in the war — and the language inflates and perverts his meaning unconscionably.

    1982, Arlene Croce, Going to the Dance, page 395

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
tumidturgescentturgid

adjectiveabnormally distended especially by fluids or gas

Similar
puffyintumescenttumidturgiddistendedbloatedswollenunhealthy
Also see
bloateddistendedintumescentpuffystiffswollentumidturgescentturgid

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latintumēscēns“swelling, bloating”
  2. Englishtumescent

From Latin tumēscēns (“swelling, bloating”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan tumescent
  • tumescentswollen or distended with fluid
German anschwellend
  • anschwellendswollen or distended with fluid
Māori uruumu
  • uruumuswollen or distended with fluid
Portuguese tumescente, intumescente
  • tumescenteswollen or distended with fluid
  • intumescenteswollen or distended with fluid

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with tumescent

crescentfluorescentantidepressantincandescentconvalescentsuppressantiridescentincessantluminescentquiescentpubescentdepressanteffervescentopalescentpearlescentflorescentevanescentelectroluminescentphosphorescentessentprepubescentsenescentobsolescentchemiluminescent
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

tumescent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tumescent

MLA

“tumescent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tumescent. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “tumescent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/tumescent.

Source: tumescent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.