Meaning & use
dwelt
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“dwelt” is a form of “dwell”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitiveliteraryold-fashioned
Past tense and past participle of dwell: lived somewhere, usually for a long time.
Grammar: Takes a place after in or at, with no direct object: she dwelt in a cottage.
Patterns
- dwelt in something
- dwelt among someone
The old fisherman dwelt in a hut by the harbor.
A family of owls dwelt in the tower for generations.
Her ancestors dwelt among the mountains for centuries.
verbphrasal verb
Past tense and past participle of dwell on: thought or talked about something for too long.
Grammar: Always followed by on: he dwelt on the mistake.
Patterns
- dwelt on something
He dwelt on the argument all week.
She never dwelt on past failures.
The speaker dwelt too long on small details.
Word forms
| base form | dwell |
|---|---|
| third person singular | dwells |
| -ing form | dwelling |
| alternative past | dwelled |
Common combinations
- dwelt in
- The monks dwelt in a quiet valley.
- dwelt on the past
- He rarely dwelt on the past.
- dwelt among
- They dwelt among the trees.
- dwelt too long on
- The report dwelt too long on minor issues.
- dwelt upon
- The author dwelt upon the sadness of the scene.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lived
- Lived is the ordinary modern word, while dwelt sounds poetic or old-fashioned.
- resided
- Resided is formal and often legal, suggesting an official address.
- brooded
- Brooded suggests gloomy, silent thinking, stronger than dwelt on.
- lingered
- Lingered means stayed slowly in a place or on a thought, with less sense of worry.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: dwelt or dealt?
dwelt vs dealt
Dealt is the past tense of deal and looks similar, but it means handled or distributed, not lived.
Practice
After the match, the coach never ___ on the defeat.
Choose one answer.
'Dwelt on' means thought for too long about something. 'Dealt' would need 'with', and 'dwell' is not past tense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “dwelt”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.