tumescence
/tjuːˈmɛsəns/noun
tumescence is spelled T-U-M-E-S-C-E-N-C-E: 10 letters. It appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, tumescence means “A swelling due to the presence of fluid” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of tumescence is tumescences.
How many letters and syllables are in tumescence?
| Letters | 10: T-U-M-E-S-C-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 31 million words; the 169,822nd 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 tumescence?
Tumescence appears about once in every 31 million words in written English, the 169,822nd 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 tumescence?
- UK /tjuːˈmɛsəns/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-tumescence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with tumescence?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as tumescence from its last stressed vowel (/ɛsəns/, British pronunciation):
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 tumescence
- tumescences plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tumescence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A swelling due to the presence of fluid.
- 2
A swollen bodily organ; used especially of erectile tissue.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does tumescence come from?
First attested 1725, from French tumescence, from Latin tumescēns (“swelling”), present participle of tumēscō (“to begin to swell”), from tumeō (“to swell”) + -ēscō (incohative suffix) (English -esce, in this form -escence), stem from Proto-Indo-European *tum-éh₁- (“to be swelling”), stative stem of *tum- (“to swell”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).