intumescence Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun swelling up with blood or other fluids (as with congestion)
    intumescency.
  2. noun the increase in volume of certain substances when they are heated (often accompanied by release of water)
    intumescency; swelling.

WordNet

In`tu*mes"cence noun
Etymology
Cf. F. intumescence.
Definitions
  1. The act or process of swelling or enlarging; also, the state of being swollen; expansion; tumidity; especially, the swelling up of bodies under the action of heat.
    The intumescence of nations. Johnson.
  2. Anything swollen or enlarged, as a tumor.

Webster 1913