swollen
swol·len/ˈswoʊ.lən/adjective, verb
swollen is spelled S-W-O-L-L-E-N: 7 letters and 2 syllables (swol·len). It appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, swollen means “Protuberant or abnormally distended (as by injury or disease)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in swollen?
| Letters | 7: S-W-O-L-L-E-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: swol·len |
| In writing | 3.7 times per million words; the 13,496th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is swollen?
Swollen appears 3.7 times per million words in written English, the 13,496th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce swollen?
- UK /ˈswəʊ.lən/
- UK /ˈswɒ.lən/
- US /ˈswoʊ.lən/
Swollen has 2 syllables, split swol·len in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-swollen.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Pvanp7-swollen.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with swollen?
3 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as swollen from its last stressed vowel (/oʊlən/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of swollen
- more swollen comparative
- most swollen superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does swollen mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Protuberant or abnormally distended (as by injury or disease).
swollen ankle
verb
- 1
past participle of swell
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Swollen in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense distended:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | enflé, gonflé |
| German | angeschwollen, geschwollen |
| Portuguese | inchado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does swollen come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).