MEANING
Stretched or enlarged from internal pressure or accumulation.
Use it for
Internal pressure; a body stretched beyond its normal outline; tense swollen sacsEmphasize stretching from within rather than general largeness.
Words that belong together
- distended abdomen
- distended bladder
- distended with fluid
On the page
The distended sac showed every vessel on its surface.
His abdomen was distended despite the hollow cheeks.
Something shifted inside the distended membrane.
Nearby words
Opposite meanings
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- distended
Usage notes
Primary category: horror. More neutral and clinical than bloated; can describe a hollow organ or vessel. Does not inherently mean decomposition or obesity. Adjective; comparison: more distended, most distended. Participial source verb: distend, distends, distended, distended, distending. Derived/related family (not inflections): distension (noun).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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