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to wallow in

to wallow in

28 7.4
To spend a lot of time feeling sorry for yourself and not trying to change
  • phrasal verb
  • /ˈwɑloʊ ɪn/
translation icon : entregarse a
  • I am not wallowing in self-pity.

You can't do anything other than wallow in retrospective assessment.

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Examples

  • You can still wallow in your misery.

  • He couldn't help but wallow in his memories of happier days.

  • Like I can just sit here and wallow in the fact that I tried.

  • So I was just wallowing in self doubt because I thought, boy, have I really screwed up.

  • I found myself wallowing in memories of the distant past.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • But while he initially took the decision badly, he didn't wallow in it for long.

    Academic text (2005)
  • To reason that way seemed more practical to him and more dignified than to wallow in regret.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • For the love of Gideon, stop wallowing in self-pity.

  • Until you identify it, you can't do anything but wallow in self-pity.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • It was a ghost town before I left, and I didn't want to sit around wallowing in self-pity.

Synonyms

to dwell
vsto wallow in
68 4.7

To think about something for a long time, usually with worry or sadness

is about indulging in emotion or memory without trying to change it
to dwell on
vsto wallow in
53 5.2

To think or talk a lot about something upsetting

is more about indulging in feelings without trying to change them
to wallow
vsto wallow in
42 5.8

To spend time enjoying a feeling or situation without trying to change it

is the same meaning but used in the phrasal form focusing on something
to wallow in the mire
vsto wallow in
1 9.9

To stay sad and think about problems instead of trying to fix them

focuses on indulging in emotions or memories rather than a bad situation
to cry in one's beer
vsto wallow in
  • Informal
9.6

To feel sorry for yourself and complain to get sympathy

is more inward indulgence in feelings without active complaint or seeking help

Antonyms

1.0

To make something or someone different

1.0

To stay away from something or not do it to stop something bad from happening

How Indulgent

to wallow in
28 7.4
to dwell on
53 5.2
to brood
28 6.1
to mope
52 4.6

Surface Forms

wallow in infinitive
wallowed in past participle
wallowing in present participle
wallows in third person singular

Morphology

wallow + in

The verb 'wallow' already carries the sense of indulging or dwelling in an emotion, and the preposition 'in' clearly marks the domain of that indulgence (e.g. 'self-pity'). The meaning of 'wallow in' is therefore directly compositional and predictable from its parts, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the phrasal meaning.

Etymology

The phrase wallow in comes from animals like pigs that wallow by lying and rolling in mud or water and staying in it because it feels comfortable. That's why wallow in now means 'to indulge' in a feeling or situation, often in a sad or unhelpful way.