Adjacent Words

swell definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: very good; "he did a bully job"; "a neat sports car"; "had a great time at the party"; "you look simply smashing" [syn: bang-up, bully, corking, cracking, dandy, great, groovy, keen, neat, nifty, not bad, peachy, slap-up, swell, smashing] n
1: the undulating movement of the surface of the open sea [syn: swell, crestless wave]
2: a rounded elevation (especially one on an ocean floor)
3: a crescendo followed by a decrescendo
4: a man who is much concerned with his dress and appearance [syn: dandy, dude, fop, gallant, sheik, beau, swell, fashion plate, clotheshorse] v
1: increase in size, magnitude, number, or intensity; "The music swelled to a crescendo"
2: become filled with pride, arrogance, or anger; "The mother was swelling with importance when she spoke of her son" [syn: swell, puff up]
3: expand abnormally; "The bellies of the starving children are swelling" [syn: swell, swell up, intumesce, tumefy, tumesce]
4: come up (as of feelings and thoughts, or other ephemeral things); "Strong emotions welled up"; "Smoke swelled from it" [syn: well up, swell]
5: come up, as of a liquid; "Tears well in her eyes"; "the currents well up" [syn: well, swell]
6: cause to become swollen; "The water swells the wood"

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (swelled; swelled or swollen; swelling) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English swellan; akin to Old High German swellan to swell Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 1. a. to expand (as in size, volume, or numbers) gradually beyond a normal or original limit <the population swelled> b. to become distended or puffed up <her ankle is badly swollen> c. to form a bulge or rounded elevation 2. a. to become filled with pride and arrogance b. to behave or speak in a pompous, blustering, or self-important manner c. to play the swell 3. to become distended with emotion transitive verb 1. to affect with a powerful or expansive emotion 2. to increase the size, number, or intensity of <swell the applicant pool> Synonyms: see expand II. noun Date: 1606 1. a long often massive and crestless wave or succession of waves often continuing beyond or after its cause (as a gale) 2. a. the condition of being protuberant b. a rounded elevation 3. a. the act or process of swelling b. (1) a gradual increase and decrease of the loudness of a musical sound; also a sign indicating a swell (2) a device used in an organ for governing loudness 4. a. archaic an impressive, pompous, or fashionable air or display b. a person dressed in the height of fashion c. a person of high social position or outstanding competence III. adjective Date: 1785 1. a. stylish b. socially prominent 2. excellent — used as a generalized term of enthusiasm

U.S. Military Dictionary

Ocean waves that have traveled out of their fetch. Swell characteristically exhibits a more regular and longer period and has flatter crests than waves within their fetch. (JP 4-01.6)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v., n., & adj. --v. (past part. swollen or swelled) 1 intr. & tr. grow or cause to grow bigger or louder or more intense; expand; increase in force or intensity. 2 intr. (often foll. by up) & tr. rise or raise up from the surrounding surface. 3 intr. (foll. by out) bulge. 4 intr. (of the heart as the seat of emotion) feel full of joy, pride, relief, etc. 5 intr. (foll. by with) be hardly able to restrain (pride etc.). --n. 1 an act or the state of swelling. 2 the heaving of the sea with waves that do not break, e.g. after a storm. 3 a a crescendo. b a mechanism in an organ etc. for obtaining a crescendo or diminuendo. 4 colloq. a person of distinction or of dashing or fashionable appearance. 5 a protuberant part. --adj. 1 esp. US colloq. fine, splendid, excellent. 2 colloq. smart, fashionable. Phrases and idioms: swell-box Mus. a box in which organ-pipes are enclosed, with a shutter for controlling the sound-level. swelled (or swollen) head colloq. conceit. swell-organ Mus. a section of an organ with pipes in a swell-box. Derivatives: swellish adj. Etymology: OE swellan f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Swell Swell, v. t. 1. To increase the size, bulk, or dimensions of; to cause to rise, dilate, or increase; as, rains and dissolving snow swell the rivers in spring; immigration swells the population. [The Church] swells her high, heart-cheering tone. --Keble. 2. To aggravate; to heighten. It is low ebb with his accuser when such peccadilloes are put to swell the charge. --Atterbury. 3. To raise to arrogance; to puff up; to inflate; as, to be swelled with pride or haughtiness. 4. (Mus.) To augment gradually in force or loudness, as the sound of a note.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Swell Swell, v. i. [imp. Swelled; p. p. Swelled or Swollen; p. pr. & vb. n. Swelling.] [AS. swellan; akin to D. zwellen, OS. & OHG. swellan, G. schwellen, Icel. svella, Sw. sv["a]lla.] 1. To grow larger; to dilate or extend the exterior surface or dimensions, by matter added within, or by expansion of the inclosed substance; as, the legs swell in dropsy; a bruised part swells; a bladder swells by inflation. 2. To increase in size or extent by any addition; to increase in volume or force; as, a river swells, and overflows its banks; sounds swell or diminish. 3. To rise or be driven into waves or billows; to heave; as, in tempest, the ocean swells into waves. 4. To be puffed up or bloated; as, to swell with pride. You swell at the tartan, as the bull is said to do at scarlet. --Sir W. Scott. 5. To be inflated; to belly; as, the sails swell. 6. To be turgid, bombastic, or extravagant; as, swelling words; a swelling style. 7. To protuberate; to bulge out; as, a cask swells in the middle. 8. To be elated; to rise arrogantly. Your equal mind yet swells not into state. --Dryden. 9. To grow upon the view; to become larger; to expand. ``Monarchs to behold the swelling scene!'' --Shak. 10. To become larger in amount; as, many little debts added, swell to a great amount. 11. To act in a pompous, ostentatious, or arrogant manner; to strut; to look big. Here he comes, swelling like a turkey cock. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Swell Swell, n. 1. The act of swelling. 2. Gradual increase. Specifically: (a) Increase or augmentation in bulk; protuberance. (b) Increase in height; elevation; rise. Little River affords navigation during a swell to within three miles of the Miami. --Jefferson. (c) Increase of force, intensity, or volume of sound. Music arose with its voluptuous swell. --Byron. (d) Increase of power in style, or of rhetorical force. The swell and subsidence of his periods. --Landor. 3. A gradual ascent, or rounded elevation, of land; as, an extensive plain abounding with little swells. 4. A wave, or billow; especially, a succession of large waves; the roll of the sea after a storm; as, a heavy swell sets into the harbor. The swell Of the long waves that roll in yonder bay. --Tennyson. The gigantic swells and billows of the snow. --Hawthorne. 5. (Mus.) A gradual increase and decrease of the volume of sound; the crescendo and diminuendo combined; -- generally indicated by the sign. 6. A showy, dashing person; a dandy. [Slang] Ground swell. See under Ground. Organ swell (Mus.), a certain number of pipes inclosed in a box, the uncovering of which by means of a pedal produces increased sound. Swell shark (Zo["o]l.), a small shark (Scyllium ventricosum) of the west coast of North America, which takes in air when caught, and swells up like a swellfish.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Swell Swell, a. Having the characteristics of a person of rank and importance; showy; dandified; distinguished; as, a swell person; a swell neighborhood. [Slang] Swell mob. See under Mob. [Slang]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(swells, swelling, swelled, swollen) Note: The forms 'swelled' and 'swollen' are both used as the past participle. 1. If the amount or size of something swells or if something swells it, it becomes larger than it was before. The human population swelled, at least temporarily, as migrants moved south... His bank balance has swelled by £222,000 in the last three weeks... Offers from other countries should swell the force to 35,000. = increase VERB: V, V to/by n, V n to n 2. If something such as a part of your body swells, it becomes larger and rounder than normal. Do your ankles swell at night?... The limbs swell to an enormous size. VERB: V, V to n • Swell up means the same as swell. When you develop a throat infection or catch a cold the glands in the neck swell up. PHRASAL VERB: V P 3. If you swell with a feeling, you are suddenly full of that feeling. (LITERARY) She could see her two sons swell with pride. VERB: V with n 4. You can describe something as swell if you think it is really nice. (AM INFORMAL) I've had a swell time. ADJ 5. see also swelling, swollen, groundswell

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

swel (tsabhah): In the ordeal of the Water of Jealousy described in Nu 5:11-31 , the effect on the unfaithful wife ot the drinking of the holy water was to cause the thigh to fall away (Revised Version) or rot (the King James Version) and the abdomen to "swell." This ceremonial was a direct appeal to the judgment of God, for there was nothing in the holy water (taken from the laver) or the dust of the temple which was mixed with it to produce this effect. In the Talmudic tract Cotah there are given many rabbinical opinions and particulars as to the procedure in later times. Apparently from the passage in Numbers, the judgment speedily followed the appeal, but according to Sotah, iii.4, it might be postponed even for four years, and in v.1, it is said to have produced the same effect on the adulterer as on the unfaithful wife. We have no details as to the nature or permanency of the swelling.

"Swell" as the translation of another word, batseq, is used in the sense of blistering of the feet from long tramping. Both in De 8:4 and Ne 9:21 it is said that in spite of their long wilderness marches the feet of the Israelites did not swell. This was a token of divine protection.

See SWOLLEN.

Alexander Macalister

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. n. 1. Dilate, expand, tumefy, distend, fill out, intumesce, grow larger or bigger (by expansion). 2. Increase (by outward addition), augment, enlarge. 3. Rise (as waves), heave, surge. 4. Belly, be inflated. 5. Strut, look big, put on airs, be puffed up, swagger, ride a high horse, carry with a high hand. 6. Be turgid or bombastic. 7. Bulge, protuberate, swell out. 8. Be puffed, be bloated, become irate. 9. Glow, expand, warm, thrill, heave, throb, grow big. 10. Be elated, rise into arrogance. 11. Become larger, grow upon the view. II. v. a. 1. Dilate, expand, inflate, enlarge. 2. Enhance, heighten, aggravate. 3. Puff up, make arrogant. III. n. 1. Swelling. 2. Augmentation, protuberance. 3. Elevation, rise. 4. Force, intensity, power, crescendo. 5. Increase of power, increase of rhetorical force. 6. Ascent, elevation. 7. Waves, billows. 8. (Colloq.) Fox, coxcomb, dandy, beau, exquisite, jackanapes, popinjay, blade, buck, fine gentleman, spark, jack-a-dandy, dandiprat, man milliner, man of dress, vain fellow.

1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue

A gentleman. A well-dressed map. The flashman bounced the swell of all his blunt; the girl's bully frightened the gentleman out of all his money.

Moby Thesaurus

Babylonian, Beau Brummel, Brahman, Corinthian, OK, accent, accent mark, accrue, accumulate, ace-high, add to, advance, aggrandize, amplify, anthill, appreciate, archduke, aristocrat, armiger, augment, awake the dead, awe-inspiring, awful, bad, bag, balloon, bang-up, bar, barbaric, baron, baronet, barrow, be poised, beau, belly, belly out, bilge, billow, blade, blast, blast the ear, bloat, bloatedness, bloating, blood, blow up, blowing up, blue blood, boil, bonzer, boom, boost, bore, bosom, boss, bouge, boulevardier, brae, braw, break, breakers, breed, broaden, broadening, bug, build, build up, bulge, bulk, bulk out, bully, bump, bunion, but good, butte, cancel, carbuncle, character, chic, choir, chop, choppiness, chopping sea, classy, claviature, clothes-conscious, clotheshorse, cock, comb, comber, console, cool, corking, corn, cosmopolitan, count, coxcomb, crackerjack, crash, crescendo, custos, cyst, dab, dabster, daimio, dandy, dapper, dash, dashing, deafen, delicious, deluxe, develop, diastole, dilatation, dilate, dilation, din, direct, dirty water, distend, distension, dot, down, dressed to advantage, dressed to kill, dropsy, drumlin, ducky, dude, duke, dune, eagre, earl, ebb and flow, echo, edema, eighty-eight, elaborate, elegant, enlarge, enlargement, esquire, expand, expansion, expression mark, exquisite, extend, extension, extravagant, fab, fancy, fashion plate, fashionable, fatten, fell, fermata, fidget, fill out, fill the air, fine, fine and dandy, fine gentleman, fingerboard, first-class, first-rate, flatulence, flatulency, flatus, flip out, flutter, foothills, fop, freak out on, fribble, fullness, furuncle, gain, gain strength, gallant, gassiness, gear, genteel, gentleman, get ahead, get high on, glorious, glow, go pitapat, go up, goggle, grand, grand duke, grandee, grandiose, gravity wave, great, greaten, groovy, ground swell, grow, have the fidgets, have the shakes, hear, heave, heavy, heavy sea, heavy swell, hidalgo, hike, hike up, hill, hillock, hold, hot, huff, hummock, hunky-dory, imposing, impressive, increase, inflate, inflation, intensify, intensity, intumescence, ivories, jack-a-dandy, jackanapes, jam-up, jaunty, jerk, just dandy, keen, key signature, keyboard, keys, knob, knoll, lace-curtain, lady-killer, laird, landgrave, lead, lift, ligature, look big, lop, lord, lordling, loudishness, loudness, lounge lizard, lump, luxurious, macaroni, magnate, magnificent, magnifico, magnify, majestic, man-about-town, manual, margrave, mark, marquis, marvy, masher, master, mean, measure, meteorism, metronomic mark, modish, molehill, monticle, monticule, moor, mound, mount, multiply, mushroom, natty, neat, nifty, nob, nobby, noble, nobleman, notation, okay, optimate, organ manual, out of sight, overdevelop, overdistend, overdraw, overexpand, overextend, overstrain, overstretch, palatial, palpitate, palsgrave, pant, past master, patrician, pause, peachy, peachy-keen, peacock, peak, peal, pedals, peer, piano keys, pimple, plush, pock, pontificate, pooch, pop, popple, posh, pouch, pout, presa, princely, pro, proliferate, proud, puff, puff up, puffiness, puffing, pump, pump up, puppy, pustule, put on, put on airs, put on side, quake, quaver, quiver, raise, rarefy, rattle the windows, recherche, rend the air, rend the ears, resound, riffle, ring, ripping, ripple, rise, rise and fall, rising, ritz it, ritzy, rock the sky, roll, roller, rough water, round out, rum, run up, sand dune, scend, scrumptious, sea, sebaceous cyst, segno, seigneur, seignior, send, shake, sharp, shiver, shoot up, sign, signature, silk-stocking, slap-up, sleek, slur, smart, smash, smashing, smug, snazzy, snowball, soigne, soignee, solid, solo, something else, sonority, sonorousness, sophisticated, spark, spectacular, spiffing, spiffy, splendacious, splendid, splendiferous, split the eardrums, split the ears, sport, spread, spruce, squire, squirm, startle the echoes, stately, step up, strain, strengthen, stretch, stretching, stun, stunning, style-conscious, stylish, sufflate, sumptuous, super, superb, superfancy, superfine, surf, surge, surge of sound, swagger, swank, swanky, swell it, swell out, swell with emotion, swellage, swelling, swollenness, symbol, tempo mark, terrific, thoroughbred, thrill, thrill to, thrilling, throb, thunder, tidal bore, tidal wave, tide wave, tie, time signature, tingle, tingle with excitement, toss, toss and turn, tough, tremble, tricksy, trig, trim, trough, tsunami, tumble, tumefaction, tumefy, tumescence, tumidity, tumidness, tumor, turgescence, turgescency, turgidity, turgidness, turn on to, twist and turn, twitch, twitter, tympanism, tympany, undulate, undulation, up, upper-cruster, vinculum, viscount, volume, waldgrave, water wave, wave, wavelet, wax, well-dressed, well-groomed, wen, white horses, whitecaps, whiz, widen, wiggle, windiness, wizard, wonderful, wriggle, writhe