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swell

/swɛl/noun, verb, adjective1 syllable

Swell means: excellent.

Synonyms for swell42

noun, as in a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance

dandy, dude, fop, gallant, sheik, beau, fashion plate, clotheshorse

noun, as in the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea

crestless wave

verb, as in expand abnormally

swell up, intumesce, tumefy, tumesce

verb, as in become filled with pride, arrogance, or anger

puff up

verb, as in come up (as of feelings and thoughts, or other ephemeral things)

well up

verb, as in come up, as of a liquid

adjective, as in excellent

bang-up, bully, corking, cracking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad, peachy, slap-up, smashing, old, good

also used for swell

balloon, distend, toff, barbermonger, blade, blood, buck, carpet knight, cockscomb, pommel, fork

Includes material from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

What does swell mean?11

adjective

1

excellent“he did a bully job”

noun

1

a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance

2

the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea

3

a rounded elevation (especially one on an ocean floor)

4

a crescendo followed by a decrescendo

verb

1

expand abnormally“The bellies of the starving children are swelling”

2

become filled with pride, arrogance, or anger“The mother was swelling with importance when she spoke of her son”

3

come up (as of feelings and thoughts, or other ephemeral things)“Strong emotions welled up”

4

come up, as of a liquid“Tears well in her eyes”

5

increase in size, magnitude, number, or intensity“The music swelled to a crescendo”

6

cause to become swollen“The water swells the wood”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with swell?43

Show 40 near rhymes

All 43 rhymes for swell, grouped by syllable

Swell in a sentence

  • In addition to a thick fog, there was a heavy swell.CM
  • Over time, wooden doors can warp or swell, making the door difficult to close.patgfisher
  • I didn't know what made my leg swell up like that.CK
  • The ocean swells like an undulating mirror of the bowl of heaven.AqQoyriq_1
  • Sami punched Layla in the face, causing her eye to swell shut.OsoHombre
  • I don't like that my eyes swell up when I cry.sundown
  • The landscape was so beautiful that William felt his heart swell with emotion.Amastan
  • Over time, wooden doors can warp or swell up, making them more difficult to close.frpzzd

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of swell

as a noun

plural
swells

as a verb

past tense
swelled
past participle
swollen
present participle
swelling
third-person singular
swells

as a adjective

comparative
sweller
superlative
swellest