wallow

wallow — verb

IPA/ˈwɒləʊ/
KK[wˈɑlo]IPA/ˈwɑːləʊ/
  • wallowpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • wallowspresent simple (he/she/it)
  • wallowedpast simple / past participle
  • wallowingpresent participle

1. To lie down and roll your body from side to side in something wet or soft, the w

1.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

To lie down and roll your body from side to side in something wet or soft, the way large animals like pigs and hippos do to cool off or relax.

Example

The big brown pig wallowed happily in the cool mud behind the barn.

wallow in + mud (literal, of animals cooling off)

Kenji watched the water buffalo wallow in the shallow river all afternoon.

Common collocations
  • wallow in mud
  • wallow in the water
  • wallow in dust
  • wallow contentedly
  • wallow lazily
Synonyms
  • roll

    more general; does not suggest mud, water, or a relaxed mood

  • welter

    literary; implies a more confused or violent rolling motion

  • flounder

    suggests struggling to move, not the lazy pleasure of wallowing

Grammar Patterns

wallow in + mud, water, dust, or sand

Usage Note

Most often used of large animals — pigs, hippos, elephants, buffalo. When applied to people, it is usually humorous or playful.

Common Mistakes

The pig was wallowing at the mud.
The pig was wallowing in the mud.
wallow takes 'in' for mud, water, and dust (substances you sink into), not 'at'.

2. To let yourself stay in a strong feeling — often a negative one like sadness, gu

2.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

To let yourself stay in a strong feeling — often a negative one like sadness, guilt, or self-pity — for much longer than you need to, almost as if you are enjoying it.

Example

Gabriel spent the whole weekend wallowing in guilt about the broken promise.

wallow in + negative emotion (guilt, self-pity, sadness)

Don't wallow in self-pity just because one job interview went badly.

Common collocations
  • wallow in self-pity
  • wallow in guilt
  • wallow in nostalgia
  • wallow in misery
  • wallow in sadness
Synonyms
  • indulge

    broader; can refer to any pleasure (food, hobbies), not only emotions

  • luxuriate

    suggests rich physical comfort and sensory pleasure, not emotional dwelling

  • bask

    used for positive things (bask in glory, bask in sunshine); wallow is usually negative

  • revel

    suggests lively, active celebration rather than passive self-absorption

Antonyms
  • resist

    to fight against a feeling rather than giving in to it

Grammar Patterns

wallow in + emotion or state (self-pity, guilt, sadness, nostalgia)

Usage Note

Almost always followed by 'in' + a noun naming an emotion or state. Carries a critical or negative tone — it suggests the person is choosing to stay stuck.

Common Mistakes

He was wallowing on self-pity.
He was wallowing in self-pity.
wallow always takes 'in', not 'on', for the figurative sense.

3. To rise and spread upward like a wave or rolling cloud — used especially of smok

3.verbintransitiveC1
Definition

To rise and spread upward like a wave or rolling cloud — used especially of smoke, mist, fire, or dust.

Example

Smoke wallowed up from the chimney and spread across the grey December sky.

literary: smoke/mist/fog wallows upward

Flames wallowed from the burning warehouse in great orange rolls.

Common collocations
  • smoke wallows up
  • flames wallow forth
  • dust wallows into the air
Synonyms
  • billow

    more common and neutral for describing smoke or fabric swelling outward

  • surge

    suggests forceful forward movement, not only upward swelling

Grammar Patterns

smoke/mist/flames/dust + wallow up/forth

Usage Note

Literary and poetic. Subject is nearly always smoke, mist, fog, fire, or dust. Distinguish from sense 1: here there is no animal or person — the movement itself is the subject.

wallow — noun

IPA/ˈwɒl.əʊ/
KK[wˈɑlo]IPA/ˈwɑː.loʊ/

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

Wallow, indulge, luxuriate, bask, and revel all describe giving yourself over to pleasure — but with very different flavours. Wallow is the most negative: it suggests staying too long in a feeling, especially self-pity or guilt, like a pig that refuses to leave the mud. Indulge is neutral and broad — you can indulge in chocolate, a hobby, or nostalgia without the judgment wallow carries. Luxuriate suggests rich physical comfort: a hot bath, silk sheets, warm sunshine. Bask implies enjoying positive attention or approval (bask in applause, bask in praise) — you would never bask in misery. Revel is the most active of the five: dancing at a wedding, cheering a victory. Where wallow is passive, stagnant, and often unhealthy, revel is energetic and celebratory. Example: 'She revelled in the applause after her speech' (proud, active joy) versus 'He wallowed in regret for months' (stuck, passive self-blame).

indulge ↗luxuriatebask ↗revel ↗

Common collocations

Adverbs

Phrases

  • have a wallow
  • a good wallow

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishProto-GermanicProto-Indo-EuropeanLatin

Wallows comes from Old English 'wealwian', meaning to roll or turn over from side to side. This word traces back to a very old root that also produced Latin 'volvere' (to roll, to turn) — the same root behind modern English words like 'revolve', 'involve', and 'volume' (originally a rolled-up scroll). The original, physical meaning of rolling in mud is the oldest sense. The figurative meaning — wallowing in self-pity, guilt, or nostalgia — developed later, likening emotional self-indulgence to a pig rolling luxuriously in mud.

First known use

12th century

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