wallow

1 of 2

verb

wal·​low ˈwä-(ˌ)lō How to pronounce wallow (audio)
wallowed; wallowing; wallows

intransitive verb

1
: to roll oneself about in a lazy, relaxed, or ungainly manner
hogs wallowing in the mud
2
: to billow forth : surge
3
: to devote oneself entirely
especially : to take unrestrained pleasure : delight
4
a
: to become abundantly supplied : luxuriate
a family that wallows in money
b
: to indulge oneself immoderately
wallowing in self-pity
5
: to become or remain helpless
allowed them to wallow in their ignorance
wallower noun

wallow

2 of 2

noun

1
: an act or instance of wallowing
2
a
: a muddy area or one filled with dust used by animals for wallowing
b
: a depression formed by or as if by the wallowing of animals
3
: a state of degradation or degeneracy

Examples of wallow in a Sentence

Verb elephants wallowing in the river Buffalo wallow in mud to keep away flies.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The Sun’s entry into Aries on the 19th will bring a lively and clarifying directness to all this wallowing, but the real game-changer arrives on the 25th with the lunar eclipse in Libra. Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Feb. 2024 Jo Stafford totally gets the prospective pathos of the season, as her emotional delivery dives deep into the depths of wallowing through December. Gwen Ihnat, EW.com, 6 Nov. 2023 Biden, meanwhile, has been wallowing in the Washington swamp for more than 50 years. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Baltimore Sun, 14 Feb. 2024 There’s something wonderful about wallowing in a lovely hot bath. Kathryn Shattuck, New York Times, 10 Feb. 2024 Decimated by his wife's accidental death, Dougie alternates between sublimating and wallowing in his gnawing, all-consuming guilt. EW.com, 6 Nov. 2023 After years of wallowing in also-ran status, the Lions had a magical season that put them on the brink of their first Super Bowl appearance. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 31 Jan. 2024 The story, which follows the couple to the West, is a microcosm of the tragedy of a Poland wallowing in hardship and paranoia. Peter Marks, Washington Post, 6 Jan. 2024 Permitted to wallow in victimhood, students unsurprisingly will. Frederick M. Hess, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023
Noun
Large herbivores such as Cape buffalo and red deer make temporary pools by creating wallows, which also interrupt wildfires. Curtis Abraham, Scientific American, 9 Sep. 2023 Fewer pigs likely means fewer muddy wallows, for instance, which are important breeding grounds for Bornean tree frogs. Bydennis Normile, science.org, 25 Apr. 2023 So have your wallow, then get your noble back on. Carolyn Hax, Washington Post, 23 Dec. 2022 Come join me and the rest of the downtown piggies in the warm, muddy wallow of Barry’s. Helen Shaw, Vulture, 15 June 2022 But somehow, thanks to some bold steering, ingenious staging and a potent humanity — especially in depicting the calmness that creating art gives Petrov — the movie never feels like a pitiful wallow. Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 6 Oct. 2022 Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother’s Will to Survive, shares a lot of the scrappy spirit of the long-running Showtime hit (while avoiding its more ridiculous comic excesses) in a way that prevents Alex’s tale from feeling like a wallow. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 22 Sep. 2021 Brisk, brusque Beethoven has, in fact, become the norm, as predictable as the old Wagnerian wallow. Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 23 Aug. 2021 The area is very secluded and bulls like to go to the meadow for a big drink and a refreshing splash in the wallow during midday, while their harem is sleeping off a night of debauchery. Outdoor Life, 10 Dec. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wallow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English walwen "to turn oneself over and over, writhe about, roll oneself in a substance, indulge oneself unrestrainedly," going back to Old English wealwian "to roll (of a round object), to roll from side to side (of a person or animal), roll in a substance," going back to Germanic *walwōjan-, iterative derivative of a base *walw-, also in Gothic afwalwjan "to roll away (an object)," atwalwjan "to roll up to," going back to Indo-European *u̯ol-u̯-, ablaut derivative of a base *u̯el-u̯-, whence Latin volvō, volvere "to set in a circular course, cause to roll" (< *u̯eluu̯ō), Greek eilýō, eilýein "to wrap round, envelop," Armenian gelum "to twist, squeeze"

Note: The base *u̯el-u̯- is taken to be an extension of *u̯el- "roll"—see etymology and note at welter entry 1.

Noun

derivative of wallow entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

circa 1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wallow was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near wallow

Cite this Entry

“Wallow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wallow. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

wallow

1 of 2 verb
wal·​low ˈwäl-ō How to pronounce wallow (audio)
1
: to roll about in or as if in deep mud
elephants wallowing in the river
2
: to devote oneself to something pleasurable
3
: to become or remain helpless
allowed them to wallow in their ignorance
wallower noun

wallow

2 of 2 noun
1
: an act of wallowing
2
: a muddy or dust-filled area where animals wallow
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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