puffiness

Puffiness is a state of being soft and round, like the puffiness of an inflatable snowman in your yard or the puffiness of the big, fluffy clouds in the sky.

The puffiness of your swollen eyes may make it impossible to hide the fact that you've been crying during a sappy movie. And the puffiness of your prom dress might make it hard to dance anywhere near your date. The condition of being puffy is what puffiness is all about — although that word was originally used to talk about the weather, as in "The wind is very puffy today!"

Definitions of puffiness

1. noun

   an abnormal protuberance or localized enlargement
   synonyms: lump, swelling

   types:

   spermatocele

   a swelling on the epididymis or the testis; usually contains spermatozoa

   bloat

   swelling of the rumen or intestinal tract of domestic animals caused by excessive gas

   bunion

   a painful swelling of the bursa of the first joint of the big toe

   dropsy, edema, hydrops, oedema

   swelling from excessive accumulation of watery fluid in cells, tissues, or serous cavities

   haematocele, haematocoele, hematocele, hematocoele

   swelling caused by blood collecting in a body cavity (especially a swelling of the membrane covering the testis)

   intumescence, intumescency

   swelling up with blood or other fluids (as with congestion)

   iridoncus

   swelling of the iris of the eye

   lymphogranuloma

   swelling of a lymph node

   oscheocele, oscheocoele

   swelling of the scrotum

   tumidity, tumidness

   slight swelling of an organ or part

   Quincke's edema, angioedema, atrophedema, giant hives, periodic edema

   recurrent large circumscribed areas of subcutaneous edema; onset is sudden and it disappears within 24 hours; seen mainly in young women, often as an allergic reaction to food or drugs

   lymphedema

   swelling (usually in the legs) caused by lymph accumulating in the tissues in the affected areas

   scleredema

   a skin disease marked by hard edema of the tissue usually beginning in the face

   cystoid macular edema

   a specific pattern of swelling in the central retina

   anasarca

   generalized edema with accumulation of serum in subcutaneous connective tissue

   chemosis

   edema of the mucous membrane of the eyeball and eyelid lining

   papilledema

   swelling of the optic disc (where the optic nerve enters the eyeball); usually associated with an increase in intraocular pressure

   brain edema, cerebral edema

   swelling of the brain due to the uptake of water in the neuropile and white matter

   tumescence

   tumidity resulting from the presence of blood or other fluid in the tissues

   haematoma, hematoma

   a localized swelling filled with blood

   type of:

   symptom

   (medicine) any sensation or change in bodily function that is experienced by a patient and is associated with a particular disease

   enlargement

   the state of being enlarged
2. noun

   lack of elegance as a consequence of being pompous and puffed up with vanity
   synonyms: inflation, ostentation, ostentatiousness, pomposity, pompousness, pretentiousness, splashiness

   type of:

   inelegance

   the quality of lacking refinement and good taste