Upswells

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To grow or elevate significantly in size or emotion, especially when liquids or feelings are involved
2. To suddenly increase or surge upward in quantity, intensity, or emotion
3. The act of swelling or rising rapidly, often in waves or emotions

Etymology: "Upswells" is the third-person singular present form of "upswell," so it is the form used with a singular subject, as in "the wave upswells." The verb is built from the prefix "up-" and the verb "swell," which goes back to Old English "swellan." Its close cousins in Dutch and German, "opzwellen" and "aufschwellen," are built the same way, showing that the pattern of attaching an upward direction to a swelling motion is shared across these related languages. The verb sets the upward motion of "swell" in its own word. Where "swell" alone describes something growing larger or fuller, "upswell" adds the sense of rising, which suits waves, tides, and emotions that surge up quickly. The plural form "upswells" simply matches a plural subject, as in "the waves upswell."

Synonyms: surges, rises, increases, spikes, grows

Antonyms: drops, falls, declines, decreases, diminishes