MEANING
To suffer from heat that feels oppressively hot.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- swelter in the heat
- swelter indoors
On the page
They sweltered in the attic until someone found the painted-shut window.
Nearby words
Word forms
- Base
- swelter
- Past tense
- sweltered
- Past participle
- sweltered
- Present participle
- sweltering
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- swelter
- Present continuous
- am/is/are sweltering
- Present perfect
- have/has sweltered
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been sweltering
- Past
- sweltered
- Past continuous
- was/were sweltering
- Past perfect
- had sweltered
- Past perfect continuous
- had been sweltering
- Future
- will swelter
- Future continuous
- will be sweltering
- Future perfect
- will have sweltered
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been sweltering
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: swelter; swelters; sweltered; sweltered; sweltering Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: swelters.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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