English Explanatory Dictionary

swelter

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb
  1. To suffer terribly from intense heat.
  2. To perspire greatly from heat.
  3. To cause to faint, to overpower, as with heat.
noun
  1. Intense heat.

Pronunciation

/ˈswɛl.tə/ /ˈswɛl.tɚ/ en-us-swelter.ogg en-au-swelter.ogg

Word forms

swelter swelters sweltering sweltered sulter

Etymology

From Middle English swelteren, frequentative form of Middle English swelten (“to die; faint”), from Old English sweltan (“to die”), from Proto-West Germanic *sweltan, from Proto-Germanic *sweltaną (“to die”), from Proto-Indo-European *swel- (“to smolder; burn”), equivalent to swelt + -er (frequentative suffix).

Synonyms

burn up steam stew sweat buckets sweat like a pig sweb swelt

Derived words

sweltersome unsweltered sultry sweltery sweltry
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