wallow

wal·low

Use wallow in a sentence

A pig wallows in the mud.

noun

The definition of a wallow is an act of or spot for rolling about or indulging.
An example of a wallow for a pig is a pit of mud.

verb

To wallow is defined as to roll in or indulge.
1. An example of to wallow is for a pig to roll about in the mud.
2. An example of to wallow is to continuously feel bad for one's self and to have self-pity.

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"wallow." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Wallow>.

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wallow. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Wallow

wallow

to roll about or lie relaxed, as in mud, dust, or water: said chiefly of large animals
to move heavily and clumsily; roll and pitch, as a ship
to live or indulge oneself to an immoderate degree (in a specified thing, condition, etc.): to wallow in self-pity
to surge or billow

Origin of wallow

Middle English walwen from Old English wealwian, to roll around from Proto-Germanic an unverified form walw- from Indo-European an unverified form wolw- from base an unverified form wel- from source walk

the act or an instance of wallowing
a muddy or dusty place in which animals wallow
a pit or depression produced by animals' wallowing

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"wallow." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Wallow>.

APA Style

wallow. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Wallow

wallow

intransitive verb

wal·lowed, wal·low·ing, wal·lows

To roll the body about or lie relaxed in water or mud.
To indulge oneself to a great degree in something: wallow in self-righteousness.
To be plentifully supplied: wallowing in money.
To move with difficulty in a clumsy or rolling manner; flounder: “The car wallowed back through the slush, with ribbons of bright water trickling down the windshield from the roof” ( Anne Tyler )

noun

The act or an instance of wallowing.
a. A pool of water or mud where animals go to wallow.
b. The depression, pool, or pit produced by wallowing animals.

Origin of wallow

Middle English walowen from Old English wealwian ; see wel-² in Indo-European roots.

Related Forms:

wal′low·er
noun

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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MLA Style

"wallow." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Wallow>.

APA Style

wallow. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Wallow

Verb

(third-person singular simple present wallows, present participle wallowing, simple past and past participle wallowed)

(intransitive) To roll oneself about, as in mire; to tumble and roll about; to move lazily or heavily in any medium; to flounder; as, swine wallow in the mire.
Pigs wallow in the mud.
(intransitive) To immerse oneself in, to occupy oneself with, metaphorically.
She wallowed in her misery.
(intransitive) To roll; especially, to roll in anything defiling or unclean, as a hog might do to dust its body to relieve the distress of insect biting or cool its body with mud.
(intransitive) To live in filth or gross vice; to behave in a beastly and unworthy manner.
(intransitive, UK, Scotland, dialect) To wither; to fade.

Usage notes

In the sense of “to immerse oneself in, to occupy oneself with", it is almost exclusively used for self-indulgent negative emotions, particularly self-pity. See synonyms for general or positive alternatives, such as revel.

Noun

(plural wallows)

An instance of wallowing.
A pool of water or mud in which animals wallow.
A kind of rolling walk.

Origin

Old English wealwian, from Proto-Germanic *walwÅnÄ….

Adjective

(comparative more wallow, superlative most wallow)

(now dialectal) Tasteless, flat.

Origin

(From inflected forms of) Old English wealÄ¡, from Proto-Germanic *walwo-. Cognate with dialectal Norwegian valg (“tasteless"). Compare waugh.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.

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Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"wallow." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 21 January 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Wallow>.

APA Style

wallow. (n.d.). Retrieved January 21st, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Wallow

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