welter

Noun · Verb
US[wel-ter]/ˈwɛltɚ/2 syllables
Synonyms: clutterjumblemuddlefuddlemare's nestsmotherwallow

Open English WordNet

Noun (1)

  1. a confused multitude of thingsSynonyms: clutterjumblemuddlefuddlemare's nestsmotherType of disorderliness, disorderKinds rummage

Verb (3)weltered, weltering

  1. toss, roll, or rise and fall in an uncontrolled way“The shipwrecked survivors weltered in the sea for hours”More general roll over
  2. roll around“pigs were wallowing in the mud”Synonyms: wallowMore general move
  3. be immersed in“welter in work”More general smother, surround
Word of the day · Nov 6About this word
punctiliousadjective

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Webster's Dictionary (1913)

Wel′ter intransitive verb [past tense & past participle Weltered; present participle & verbal noun Weltering.]

Origin: Freq. of OE. walten to roll over, AS. wealtan; akin to LG. weltern, G. walzen to roll, to waltz, sich wälzen to welter, OHG. walzan to roll, Icel. velta, Dan. vælte, Sw. vältra, välta; cf. Goth. waltjan; probably akin to E. wallow, well, v. i. √146. See Well, intransitive verb, and cf. Waltz.

1. To roll, as the body of an animal; to tumble about, especially in anything foul or defiling; to wallow.

When we welter in pleasures and idleness, then we eat and drink with drunkards.— Hugh Latimer
These wizards welter in wealth's waves.— Edmund Spenser
He must not float upon his watery bier Unwept, and welter to the parching wind, Without the meed of some melodious tear.— John Milton
The priests at the altar... weltering in their blood.— Walter S. Landor

2. To rise and fall, as waves; to tumble over, as billows. “The weltering waves.” John Milton

Waves that, hardly weltering, die away.— William Wordsworth
Through this blindly weltering sea.— Abp. Richard Chenevix Trench
Wel′ter transitive verb

Origin: Cf. Wilt, intransitive verb

To wither; to wilt. rare

Weltered hearts and blighted... memories.— Isaac Taylor
Wel′ter adjective

Horse Racing Of, pertaining to, or designating, the most heavily weighted race in a meeting; as, a welter race; the welter stakes.

Wel′ter noun

1. That in which any person or thing welters, or wallows; filth; mire; slough.

The foul welter of our so-called religious or other controversies.— Thomas Carlyle

2. A rising or falling, as of waves; as, the welter of the billows; the welter of a tempest.

Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54

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