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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

swallow whole en · VERB

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic, transitive) To believe (a lie, excuse, story etc.) in its entirety and without question.
    • It forbiddeth us to swallow whole the Doctrines and Precepts of men, without examination of them. 1683, Isaac Barrow, A treatise of the Pope's supremacy to which is added A discourse concerning the unity of the church:
  2. (transitive) To take in, absorb or comprehend something (information, news, etc.) in its entirety.
  3. (transitive) To destroy entirely and instantly.
    • […] when the so-caled^([sic]) First Amendment Defense Act has the capacity to swallow whole almost all of our hard-won protections, if upheld by the courts. 2017 February 15, Patrick, kenneth in the (212), archived from the original on 17 Nov 2019:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
swallows whole Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
swallowed whole Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
swallowed whole Tense=Past lexicographic
swallowing whole Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic

Synonyms

take at face value