sweltered; sweltering
ˈswel-t(ə-)riŋ 
1
: to suffer, sweat, or be faint from heat
2
: to become exceedingly hot
in summer, the place swelters
Synonyms
Examples of swelter in a Sentence
Verb
We were sweltering in the summer heat.
Noun
the set designer spent the entire week before opening night in a swelter
Recent Examples on the Web
Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
Despite its northern location, Milan's summers can be sweltering, especially in July and August, when the city is also very crowded.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 25 Mar. 2024
But, in 2041-2060, all areas are projected to experience at least 20 days above 90 degrees annually, with some areas in south-central Wisconsin experiencing these sweltering temps about 40 days per year.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2024
Her six brothers have been trimmed in number to three, her parents and the family’s mixed race cook Viola get limited stage time and there’s little of Kelly’s gorgeous descriptions of the natural world, the history of turn-of-the-century Central Texas or the sweltering summer heat.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2024
Central Florida can swelter in the summer, with high temperatures and what feels like even higher humidity.
—Eve Chen, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport — Phoenix, Arizona On a particularly sweltering Arizona afternoon, visitors to PHX can find refreshing beverages and AC on full blast just past Terminal 4, Gate B22.
—Jared Ranahan, Travel + Leisure, 19 Feb. 2024
The location is a 70-year-old historic landmark that was originally home to Crystal Ice Co., the primary ice company for west and south Fort Worth and TCU during the sweltering 1950s.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Feb. 2024
This is the driest place in America, a place famous for sweltering 120-degree summers, a place whose very name suggests inhospitableness.
—Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024
Kaitlyn Greenidge, Harper's BAZAAR, 24 Aug. 2023
Although the temperature on the day of the 1963 March may have been lower than Saturday’s, many factors may have contributed to the sense of swelter recalled by participants in the original event.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2023
The failure of humidity to reach the stickiness of peak swelter showed up in the heat index, often regarded as an indicator of how things actually feel.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2023
Each side can make five subs per game at the 2023 World Cup, with an extra sixth sub reserved for players who suffer a head injury and must be removed.
– While much of the world swelters, Auckland is feeling a bit chilly.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 19 July 2023
Washington’s heat only grazed the heights of scorch on Saturday, but the humidity helped the day approach the state of a significant summer swelter.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 16 July 2023
An uncrowded spot to shake the swelter, and come away wanting to save the planet.
—Britt Kennerly, USA TODAY, 5 July 2023
Although Sunday was only the second day of July, the high temperature in Washington, combined with the day’s soggy air and high humidity seemed to be leading us deep into summer and its typical swelter.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 3 July 2023
State-by-state average temperature trends from 1990 to 2020 show America's summer swelter is increasing more in some of the places that just got baked with extreme heat over the past week: California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Oregon and Colorado.
—Seth Borenstein, Star Tribune, 4 July 2021
Verb
Ruby and Hildebrandt forced Ruby’s youngest children, RF and EF, to work under sweltering heat for hours with little food or water, per Ruby’s plea agreement obtained by PEOPLE.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
Despite its northern location, Milan's summers can be sweltering, especially in July and August, when the city is also very crowded.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 25 Mar. 2024
But, in 2041-2060, all areas are projected to experience at least 20 days above 90 degrees annually, with some areas in south-central Wisconsin experiencing these sweltering temps about 40 days per year.
—Claire Reid, Journal Sentinel, 22 Mar. 2024
Her six brothers have been trimmed in number to three, her parents and the family’s mixed race cook Viola get limited stage time and there’s little of Kelly’s gorgeous descriptions of the natural world, the history of turn-of-the-century Central Texas or the sweltering summer heat.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Mar. 2024
Central Florida can swelter in the summer, with high temperatures and what feels like even higher humidity.
—Eve Chen, USA TODAY, 20 Mar. 2024
Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport — Phoenix, Arizona On a particularly sweltering Arizona afternoon, visitors to PHX can find refreshing beverages and AC on full blast just past Terminal 4, Gate B22.
—Jared Ranahan, Travel + Leisure, 19 Feb. 2024
The location is a 70-year-old historic landmark that was originally home to Crystal Ice Co., the primary ice company for west and south Fort Worth and TCU during the sweltering 1950s.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Feb. 2024
This is the driest place in America, a place famous for sweltering 120-degree summers, a place whose very name suggests inhospitableness.
—Reis Thebault, Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2024
Noun
But the swelter of the room ceased to exist when Griffiths stood up to read.
—Kaitlyn Greenidge, Harper's BAZAAR, 24 Aug. 2023
Although the temperature on the day of the 1963 March may have been lower than Saturday’s, many factors may have contributed to the sense of swelter recalled by participants in the original event.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 27 Aug. 2023
The failure of humidity to reach the stickiness of peak swelter showed up in the heat index, often regarded as an indicator of how things actually feel.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2023
Each side can make five subs per game at the 2023 World Cup, with an extra sixth sub reserved for players who suffer a head injury and must be removed.
– While much of the world swelters, Auckland is feeling a bit chilly.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 19 July 2023
Washington’s heat only grazed the heights of scorch on Saturday, but the humidity helped the day approach the state of a significant summer swelter.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 16 July 2023
An uncrowded spot to shake the swelter, and come away wanting to save the planet.
—Britt Kennerly, USA TODAY, 5 July 2023
Although Sunday was only the second day of July, the high temperature in Washington, combined with the day’s soggy air and high humidity seemed to be leading us deep into summer and its typical swelter.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 3 July 2023
State-by-state average temperature trends from 1990 to 2020 show America's summer swelter is increasing more in some of the places that just got baked with extreme heat over the past week: California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Oregon and Colorado.
—Seth Borenstein, Star Tribune, 4 July 2021
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'swelter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English sweltren, frequentative of swelten to die, be overcome by heat, from Old English sweltan to die; akin to Goth swiltan to die
First Known Use
Verb
14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun
1851, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of swelter was
in the 14th century
Dictionary Entries Near swelter
Cite this Entry
“Swelter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/swelter. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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