Meaning & use
sweltering
Last updated
UK/ˈsweltərɪŋ/
US/ˈsweltərɪŋ/
Meaning
adjectivecomparable
Uncomfortably hot and humid, so that you feel sticky and worn out.
Grammar: Describes weather, places or hours: a sweltering day; it was sweltering.
Patterns
- a sweltering day
- sweltering heat
The train had no air conditioning, and the carriage was sweltering.
We walked through the sweltering heat to the market.
It was a sweltering July afternoon in the city.
Word forms
| comparative | more sweltering |
|---|---|
| superlative | most sweltering |
Common combinations
- sweltering heat
- The sweltering heat made everyone slow.
- a sweltering day
- It was a sweltering day for a parade.
- sweltering temperatures
- Sweltering temperatures hit the region.
- sweltering conditions
- They worked in sweltering conditions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scorching
- Intense heat, often dry; not necessarily humid.
- muggy
- Humid and close, but milder.
- stifling
- Hot and airless, hard to breathe.
Opposites
Word family
- swelter verb
- to suffer from oppressive heat
Commonly confused: sweltering or shelter?
sweltering vs shelter
A place of protection; unrelated to heat.
Practice
The room was ___ with no windows open and a dozen people inside.
Choose one answer.
Sweltering means oppressively hot. The others relate to cold, rain or wind.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sweltering”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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