# swollen

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈswəʊ.lən/ · frequency rank #13,622

## Definitions
1. Protuberant or abnormally distended (as by injury or disease).

## Etymology
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”).

## Easily confused with
- **stolen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/stolen-vs-swollen)
- **sullen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sullen-vs-swollen)
- **swelled** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/swelled-vs-swollen)

## Common misspellings (9)
`sowllen`, `sswollen`, `swlolen`, `swoleln`, `swolen`, `swollenn`, `swollne`, `swwollen`, `wsollen`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/swollen