The Collaborative International Dictionary
Dwell \Dwell\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Dwelled, usually contracted into Dwelt (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dwelling.] [OE. dwellen, dwelien, to err, linger, AS. dwellan to deceive, hinder, delay, dwelian to err; akin to Icel. dvelja to delay, tarry, Sw. dv["a]ljas to dwell, Dan. dv[ae]le to linger, and to E. dull. See Dull, and cf. Dwale.]
To delay; to linger. [Obs.]
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To abide; to remain; to continue.
I 'll rather dwell in my necessity.
--Shak.Thy soul was like a star and dwelt apart.
--Wordsworth. -
To abide as a permanent resident, or for a time; to live in a place; to reside.
The parish in which I was born, dwell, and have possessions.
--Peacham.The poor man dwells in a humble cottage near the hall where the lord of the domain resides.
--C. J. Smith.To dwell in, to abide in (a place); hence, to depend on. ``My hopes in heaven to dwell.''
--Shak.To dwell on or To dwell upon, to continue long on or in; to remain absorbed with; to stick to; to make much of; as, to dwell upon a subject; a singer dwells on a note.
They stand at a distance, dwelling on his looks and language, fixed in amazement.
--Buckminster.Syn: To inhabit; live; abide; sojourn; reside; continue; stay; rest.
Usage examples of "to dwell on".
Lived there, grew there, until they had emerged from the sea at maturity, physically able at last to dwell on land, free to walk across the beaches for the first time to the city beyond.
And since I regard this typical and exclusively European chapter of our subject as one of the most important mutations not only of human feeling, but also of the spiritual consciousness of our human race, I am going to dwell on it a little, before proceeding to the final passages of this chapter.
It was, in fact, rather confusing, but she didn't have the time to dwell on it further.
I don't want you to dwell on your stay in the hospital but do you remember the flowers you received?
It belongs to a different occasion from the present to dwell on these things as parts of national education.
It was good living so close to so much power, to dwell on the periphery of chaos.