All words

swelter

Meaning

To experience extreme discomfort or distress due to oppressive atmospheric warmth.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

The sun beat down, thick and heavy. Sweat dripped into my eyes as the air hung still and hot. I could barely breathe, just wanted to hide from the heat. We were starting to swelter, wishing for even a faint breeze.

The old woman sat on her porch, fanning herself uselessly. Her thin cotton dress stuck to her back as she began to swelter. The sun beat down, making the air thick and hard to breathe, her skin prickling with heat.

The old forge was a furnace. Sparks flew and metal roared, but the real torture was the air. The heat pressed down, thick and heavy, making every breath a struggle. I could feel my shirt stick to my back as I tried to swelter through another hour.

The city was a hot mess. We tried to find shade, but even the ice cream truck melted into a puddle. Everyone started to swelter, making grumpy faces as sweat dripped down their shirts. It felt like the sun was giving us a giant, warm hug we didn't want.

Barnaby the badger, usually a cool dude, started to swelter. His fur felt like a fuzzy oven. He desperately wished he could swap places with a penguin for just one afternoon, or maybe a very well-iced carrot. The sun beat down like a grumpy giant.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

The sun beat down relentlessly, the air thick and still. Sweat trickled down his temples as he pushed the lawnmower, the metal handle burning his palms. He could barely breathe, wishing for a breeze, any relief from the oppressive heat that made him swelter.

The air conditioning unit wheezed its last breath. Outside, the asphalt shimmered. Inside, the archive technicians began to swelter, their wool vests clinging uncomfortably as they sorted through fragile, century-old taxidermy specimens. Each breath felt thick and heavy.

The desert nomads huddled under the thin canvas, praying for a wisp of breeze. The sun beat down relentlessly, and the air grew thick and heavy, making it impossible to even think. They began to swelter, their throats parched and their bodies aching with the oppressive heat.

The sun beat down relentlessly, turning the pavement into a shimmering mirage. We tried to find shade, but it offered little relief. Inside the stuffy room, with no breeze and sticky air, we began to truly swelter, each breath a struggle against the oppressive heat.

The air hung thick and heavy, a damp blanket threatening to smother us. Flies buzzed with smug satisfaction as we began to swelter, our shirts clinging unpleasantly. Even the ice cream started sweating before it hit our tongues. This heat was no joke, just a miserable, sticky ordeal.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

The pavement radiated heat, making the air thick and hard to breathe. Sweat plastered my shirt to my back as I trudged toward the shade, trying to escape the oppressive warmth. I was starting to swelter under the relentless sun, my energy draining with every step.

The blacksmith, his face a mask of grit and sweat, continued to hammer the glowing steel, the forge's heat overwhelming. He could feel his skin prickle as he began to swelter, the air thick and still around his workbench, making each breath a struggle against the oppressive warmth.

The metal plating grew hot beneath his gloved hands, and he could feel sweat prickle his brow. This close to the exhaust manifold, even the recycled air was thick and heavy. He began to swelter, every breath a struggle against the oppressive, stifling atmosphere of the deep-space mining vessel.

The humid air clung heavily, pressing down as the asphalt radiated heat. We began to swelter under the relentless sun, our clothes sticking uncomfortably to our skin. Each shallow breath offered little relief from the oppressive warmth, a feeling of growing distress washing over us.

The town hall meeting was a veritable sauna. As the mayor droned on about municipal bonds, the attendees began to swelter. Beads of perspiration trickled down foreheads, and the air grew thick with the aroma of desperation and damp polyester. Someone fanned themselves vigorously with a zoning ordinance.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

The asphalt shimmered, heat radiating in visible waves as we trudged toward the abandoned lot. My shirt clung, a sodden second skin, and every breath was thick and laborious. I could barely endure the oppressive atmosphere, feeling my body swelter with an almost unbearable discomfort.

The unventilated hab dome was oppressive, its recirculated air thick and stagnant. Outside, the twin suns beat down with merciless intensity, forcing the colonists to swelter, their movements sluggish with profound discomfort as they monitored the failing atmospheric processors.

The alchemist, his brow slick with sweat, struggled to maintain focus within the suffocating laboratory. Outside, the sun beat down relentlessly, making the very air feel thick and unwieldy, causing him to swelter as he meticulously measured the volatile essences, his hands trembling from the oppressive atmospheric warmth.

The asphalt radiated heat, and the air hung thick and immobile. I could feel sweat prickling my brow as the sun beat down relentlessly. We had to trudge through town, and with every step, I began to swelter, a profound discomfort settling deep within me.

The humid air, thick as a wool blanket knitted by a disgruntled troll, made one swelter. Sweat, unbidden and gregarious, cascaded down faces, transforming stoic visages into glistening caricatures. Even the normally unflappable pigeons sought succor beneath the scant shade, their coos a mournful lament against the palpable oppression.

Difficulty

Normal — Everyday words worth reinforcing.

Appears in

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