wallow
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wallow¹
- /ˈwɒ.ləʊ/ UK
Rhymes with -ɒləʊ
Where it comes from
From Middle English walowen, walewen, walwen, welwen, from Old English wealwian (“to roll”), from Proto-West Germanic *walwōn, variant of *walwijan, from Proto-Germanic *walwijaną (“to roll”), from Proto-Indo-European *welw-, from Proto-Indo-European *welH- (“to turn, wind, roll”). Cognate with Latin volvō (“roll, tumble”, verb).
verb wallows · wallowing · wallowed · waller
-
To roll oneself about in something dirty, for example in mud.
Pigs wallow in the mud.
Similar: welter
- To move lazily or heavily in any medium. The fire was thrown to a great height; the fountains and jets all wallowed together; new ones appeared, and danced joyously round the margin, then converging towards the centre they merged into one glowing mass, which upheaved itself pyramidally and disappeared with a vast plunge.
-
To immerse oneself in, to occupy oneself with, metaphorically.
She wallowed in her misery.
Similar: grovel, bask, delight, indulge, luxuriate, revel, rollick
- To live or exist in filth or in a sickening manner. God sees a man wallowing in his native impurity.
noun wallows · waller
- An instance of wallowing.
- A pool of water or mud in which animals wallow, or the depression left by them in the ground. However, we have no time to linger, and picking our way among the countless buffalo wallows which indent the level surface of the summit, the wagon, […]
- A kind of rolling walk.
wallow²
- /ˈwɒ.ləʊ/ UK
Rhymes with -ɒləʊ
Where it comes from
From Middle English walwen, from Old English wealwian (“to fade, wither”), of uncertain origin. Perhaps an alteration of Old English fealwian (“to grow pale, turn yellow, ripen, wither”). Alternatively, perhaps related to Middle English welken (“to fade, droop, wither”), modern English welk.
verb wallows · wallowing · wallowed · waller
- To fade, fade away, wither, droop; fail to flourish.
wallow³
- /ˈwɒ.ləʊ/ UK
Rhymes with -ɒləʊ
Where it comes from
From Middle English walwe, walh, from Old English wealg, from Proto-West Germanic *walg, from Proto-Germanic *walgaz. Cognate with Dutch walg (“disgust”), dialectal Norwegian valg (“tasteless”). Doublet of waugh.
adjective more wallow · most wallow · waller
- Tasteless, flat.
Translations
Every language
verb 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
| Русский | валя́ться valjátʹsja |
|---|
verb 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
| Español | revolcarse |
|---|---|
| Português | chafurdar |
| Français | se vautrer |
| Deutsch | sich wälzen, sich suhlen |
| Italiano | sguazzare, guazzare, rotolarsi |
| Ελληνικά | κυλιέμαι kyliémai |
| Русский | валя́ться valjátʹsja |
| العربية | تَمَرَّغَ tamarraḡa |
verb to immerse oneself in, to occupy oneself with, metaphorically
| Español | dejarse abrumar |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 溺れる oboreru |
| Français | se complaire, se vautrer |
| Deutsch | sich suhlen |
| Italiano | adagiarsi, crogiolarsi |
| Русский | купа́ться kupátʹsja |
verb to live in filth or gross vice; to disport oneself in a beastly and unworthy manner
| Русский | погря́знуть pogrjáznutʹ |
|---|
Talk about this word "wallow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/wallow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. wallow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/wallow "wallow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/wallow.Cite this
@misc{wallow_2026,
title = {wallow},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/wallow},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
